Silver Bullets
by Once Upon a Dark Swan
Summary: Emma had done pretty well at hiding that she was a werewolf since she had arrived in Storybrooke. Maybe she should have told her mom though... that way she wouldn't have ended up with an arrow in her chest. Luckily Ruby and Regina are there to help.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **So I started watching Once Upon A Time and I am absolutely in love with Swan Queen. So here's my first official Once Upon a Time fanfic. I also have a one shot that I'm currently working on that's Swan Queen so be on the lookout for that. Please favorite, follow, and review if you like it.**

 **This takes places starting in 2x09. And just for the record, this is not guaranteed to be Swan Queen just yet. I may be willing to budge depending on what readers want to see. Just give me some feedback on what you guys want to see and feel free to tell me why. :)**

 **I own nothing but I still hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

Emma had done wonderful at hiding her secret. Being a werewolf was something she had managed to keep to herself, well, and Ruby of course, since she had arrived in Storybrooke. She hadn't wanted to tell Ruby what she was but because of Ruby's werewolf instincts, she had known the moment she saw Emma after the breaking of the curse.

Being in what was almost a wasteland instead of back home on a full moon was not an ideal situation. She was lucky she had managed to escape camp for a bit and go for a run. She could feel the wind breezing through her fur as she ran, soft thuds echoing around the vast forest with each step of her paws. She could hear and smell for a mile around. She could still smell the fire from their camp as it crackled in front of her traveling partners. She couldn't hear Mary Margaret and Aurora talking anymore but it didn't faze her much considering how free she felt at the moment. The snapping of a twig and an arrow being drawn didn't even register with her ears until it was too late. The sharp head of the arrow pierced her body to the upper left of her front leg. She stumbled forward as her legs gave out beneath her and she howled out in pain.

She tried to keep herself from shifting back into her human form but she couldn't help it. The last thing she wanted was for whoever her attacker was to find out she was a werewolf. She didn't want anyone to look at her like she was some kind of monster in her last moments. She felt her fur disappear from around her body and the feeling of the arrow lodged deeply into her side hit her again causing her to release a pained scream.

From a distance away, Snow White watched as the threatening wolf she had shot shifted forms into a human. A blonde human. One who she happened to know as Emma Swan, her own daughter.

"Emma! No!" She shouted and ran towards the girl. Mulan and Aurora watched from a few feet away as Snow White's expression turned from one of complete concentration into horror and shame. They chased after her down the small hill, coming to a stop as they reached Emma, who was on the ground with an arrow in her side.

"Oh god, Emma. I had no idea. I'm so sorry!" Snow White sobbed out. She looked up at Mulan and Aurora. "What do we do? We have to help her." Emma moaned in pain at their feet and Aurora kneeled down beside the two other women, Mulan doing the same. Aurora placed a hand comfortingly on Snow's shoulder and Mulan moved closer to inspect the wound.

"I've seen many injuries like this before." She announced, causing the two other women to look up at her expectantly. "If we can get her back to our campsite then I have some supplies. I could remove the arrow and patch up the wound." Snow White nodded at her emphatically.

"Okay Emma, we're going to get you back to camp and then everything will be okay. Don't give up on us yet, okay?" Snow White said as she and Mulan lifted the blonde up and helped support her weight. They carried her back as quickly as they could. Luckily, they weren't too far from where their campsite was and they managed to get Emma back in only a few minutes. They gently placed her on the ground and she moaned out in pain. Mulan inspected the wound for a moment and then sighed in frustration as she looked to Snow White.

"The arrow is lodged pretty deep in there. We can't know if it did any damage to her heart." She said. Snow White looked to Aurora as if she could explain but the girl looked back helplessly.

"What does that mean? Is she going to die?" Snow choked out as she looked back to Mulan.

"I don't know. I would imagine that if her heart had been badly damaged that she would have already died by now but she hasn't. I don't think it will kill her but there's no guarantee. I need you to understand that when I pull this arrow out she may be okay... But she also may bleed out too quickly for us to stop it." Snow nodded in understanding and leaned down to place a kiss on Emma's forehead as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Mom... I'll be okay." Emma groaned out before looking up and connecting her eyes with Mulan's. "Just pull the arrow out. I'm ready." Mulan grabbed the arrow and placed her other hand on Emma's side so that she could pull it out safely. She concentrated and mentally begged anyone that would listen to make sure Emma didn't bleed out in Snow White's arms. She pulled the arrow out quickly causing Emma to yelp in pain. Mulan's hands quickly dropped the arrow and moved to put pressure on the wound to prevent as much bleeding as she could.

"Aurora hand me the supplies for stitches." Mulan said. Aurora felt around in their bag of first aid supplies and then looked up at Mulan, a mix of shock and grief covering her face.

"We ran out. I don't know when but... We don't have any." Snow looked up at Mulan and Emma mumbled something under her breath about getting another short stick or something. Mulan wasn't too concerned with what the blonde was saying though.

"How will you close that wound without stitches of some sort?" Snow White asked desperately. Mulan looked around frantically and the paused and looked back to Aurora.

"Give me a needle and one of your hairs." She demanded. Snow White blanched but Aurora did as was asked of her and handed both over to the warrior. Mulan quickly set about stitching the hole closed with Aurora's hair. Emma gripped Snow White's hand tightly trying to bite back tears but it was in vain and a few rogue droplets leaked out of the corner of her eyes. She swore to herself that she would never take pain medication for granted again when she got home. Once Mulan was finished she helped the blonde sit up and she wrapped a tight bandage around the injured side.

"Okay that should do," She told her. "Now let's get you moved so you can get some rest. We have to stop Cora and Hook as soon as possible."

* * *

Despite Snow White's protests, Mulan and Emma decided to continue their journey. After a slight detour of being trapped in a castle dungeon they managed to get back on track. They had to be sure hey we're the ones who went through the portal. They had run for a long time before they reached the barren area that was once a lake. Emma placed her hand on her side where her wound was and winced causing Snow to look at her in concern. Emma brushed it off though and ran towards the portal that Cora and Captain Hook had just opened up. Mulan drew an arrow and fired it as Hook placed his hand on the compass, knocking the navigation out of he and Cora's hands with incredible precision.

"You're not going anywhere! This portal is taking us home." Snow shouted. "The compass, get it!" Mulan and Emma rushed the Queen of Hearts and the pirate from opposite sides and began battling the two. Emma drew her sword just as Hook did and Snow drew in arrow as the metal weapons clanged against each other. Hook knocked Emma's sword out of her hand and dropped his before tossing her to the ground roughly. She grunted in pain as he grabbed her ankles and dragged her closer to him. Emma watched as he leaned back and caught a satchel with his hook before tossing it to Mulan.

"I may be a pirate but I bristle at the thought of a woman losing her heart. Unless it's over me." He said. Snow ran over to Mulan and Emma.

"Go!" She commanded as Emma went to pick up her sword.

"No, you need the compass." Mulan protested.

"And Aurora needs her heart." Snow said. Mulan handed Snow her sword and took off to go rescue the brunette princess.

"I had no idea you had such a soft side." Emma said patronizingly as she approached Hook again.

"I don't. Just like a fair fight." He responded with a smirk. The two resumed their fight for a moment until the swords clashed.

"Good form. But not good enough." Hook said before her pushing her down. The pirate slid his hook down her sword with a devilish grin as she pointed towards him.

"Normally," He said. "I prefer to do other more enjoyable activities with a woman on her back. With my life on the line, you've left me no choice. A bit of advice? When I jab you with my sword, you'll feel it. You might want to quit."

"Why would I do that," Emma asked as she held up the compass. "When I'm winning?" She shoved him off of her with a snarl not their swords met again. He pushed hers down until she stopped and smiled at him. "Thanks!" She yelled as she pulled back her arm and punched him across the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Now let's go home!" Emma yelled to her mother. She noticed the stare down between Snow and Cora and charged forward to swing her sword at Regina's mother. Cora disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke just as her sword swung through.

"Emma, run!" Snow said. They were almost to the portal when Cora appeared in front of them and lifted her hands, sending them flying backwards. Cora walked towards Snow angrily. Emma stood to help but was sent flying back down. She thought she could feel her stitches beginning to tear.

"Why do you need to get to Storybrooke?" Snow asked.

"Because my daughter needs me. And now I'm going to give her the one thing she's always wanted." Cora said. Emma could already see what was about to happen so she pushed back her pain and stood to lunge in front of her mother. "Your heart. Goodbye Snow."

Emma leaped forward and Cora's hand plunged into her chest. Emma thought she might pass out right then and there from all of the pain in her chest. She could faintly hear Snow yell for her but her attention was mainly focusing on the hand that was gripping her heart.

"Oh, you foolish girl. Don't you know? Love is weakness." Cora attempted to pull Emma's heart out but it wouldn't leave her body. The older woman's eyes widened.

"No," Emma said. "It's strength." She lifted her hand and used magic to send Cora flying back as Snow ran over to her to check her over.

"What was that?" Emma asked as Snow smiled and patted her cheek.

"That. Is a great subject for discussion... When we get home." Snow said. The two women ran forward and each out a hand on the compass before leaping into the portal. Light flashed around them and Emma suddenly felt a searing pain before she felt herself get thrown to the ground.

"Ma!" Henry shouted. The blonde was crumpled on the ground and Regina felt like she may be watching her son's life crumble in front of him as she noticed the blood stain growing along Emma's side. Ruby ran towards Mary Margaret and pulled the woman into a tight hug as Henry dropped to his knees at Emma's side.

"Somebody help! Please!" Henry shouted again. Regina's legs suddenly seemed to work again and she rushed forward as Ruby and Snow froze at the sight of the Savior on the ground before also running over to help. Regina quickly pulled Henry out of the way and took his place at the girl's side. She inspected the injury for a moment before arriving to the conclusion that the portal didn't cause the wound, an arrow had. It seemed to have hit her heart though and Regina looked around quickly for any possible option other than the one in her head. She looked up at Mary Margaret who was holding tightly to Henry and crying and then over to Ruby who had gotten beside Emma at some point and was holding the girl's hand comfortingly.

"Emma, I need to take your heart out." She said slowly. The sheriff's mother shouted in protest but Regina ignored her. She couldn't ignore Ruby's intense glare on her though. "I promise I will put it right back but I have to take it out and see if it needs to be fixed because we don't have time to get you to a hospital. Is this okay with you?"

"Cora tried to pull her heart out and it didn't work. What makes you think it will for you?" Mary Margaret said. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Because I'm getting consent. If Emma is okay with it then her magic won't stop me. So Emma, I need to know. Is it okay with you?" Regina asked gently.

"Just do it. Please." Emma choked out, spitting a little blood into the leaves. Regina nodded and then plunged her hand into the blonde's chest, yanking her heart out of her chest. Emma gasped in pain and Ruby had to force her to stay laying down while Mary Margaret and Henry both had to look away.

Just as Regina had expected, the heart had been just barely nicked. It was just bad enough to be concerning so Regina used magic to heal it and then held the heart out to Ruby. The brunette's eyes widened.

"What the hell Regina?" The brunette exclaimed.

"Just hold it while I fix this injury on her side. I would use magic but it's already been stitched so I'm just going to restitch it. I don't know how my magic would affect the work already done and I don't want to make it worse so I need for you to hold her heart. Can you do this?" Regina asked seriously. Ruby nodded and carefully took the heart into her own hands. The older woman leaned down a little and looked at the bleeding injury and frowned. She thought for a moment before reaching down and pulling a stray thread off of Emma's shirt and conjuring a needle with magic. She set to work restitching the areas where the stitches had come undone, occasionally stopping to give Emma a moment to breathe. The blonde was drifting off every now and then and Ruby kept having to coax her into staying conscious. Once she finished, she waved her hand and supplies to bandage the wound appeared beside her. Regina looked up at Ruby and nodded to signal to the werewolf to return the heart to her hands. She took it gently from the brunette and then took a deep breath. Emma was already in a lot of pain and having her heart thrust back into her chest would just make it worse. She placed one hand on Emma's shoulder to ensure the girl didn't try to get up too quickly when she put her heart back into her chest before shoving her hand forward and putting the beating organ back into it's usual place. Emma screamed in pain and Regina brought her newly free hand up to cup Emma's face.

"Shh, easy Emma. I know it hurts just take some deep breaths." Regina said. She looked up at Mary Margaret and Henry who were both crying. "Henry, I need you to take Mary Margaret to Mr. Gold's shop, okay? She needs to wake David up."

"What? No! Mom, I need to stay with Emma." Henry cried out in protest.

"No. Ruby and I are going to finish up helping Emma and then we're going to take her back to our house. She's going to be okay, I promise. Go help wake up David and then you can bring him to come see Emma if she's up to seeing visitors, okay?" She said. Henry nodded reluctantly and took Mary Margaret's hand, guiding her to Mr. Gold's shop quickly. Regina picked up the bandage and started to unwrap it as she looked between Emma and Ruby.

"Can you help her sit up? I don't think she can do it on her own right now." Ruby nodded and slid behind Emma to support the girl as Regina waved her hands and made Emma's jacket and blood stained shirt disappear so they could wrap the bandage around her torso. She worked quickly in hopes of getting Emma, who had managed to pass out from the pain, out of the forest as quickly as possible. As soon as Regina finished her work she looked up to Ruby.

"Grab my hand. I'm going to get us there with magic. It'll be much quicker." She said. The werewolf nodded and took her hand and in just two seconds they were on the floor in the mayor's house.

"Here," Regina said as she gestured to the couch beside them. "We can lay her up here until we figure out what we're going to do." Ruby nodded and the two women carefully lifted Emma up and placed her gently on the cushions. Regina grabbed a blanket that was sitting atop the back of the couch and threw it over Emma. She looked to Ruby and offered the friendliest smile she could muster up in the situation.

"Would you like a drink?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

 **Okay so I have four chapters in one of my other fics and it hasn't gotten as much of a response as one chapter as this fic has and it makes me so excited to be a part of a fandom that isn't dead. Also, as a thanks to all of you lovelies I got to work on this chapter right away. I hope you all enjoy it and please review, favorite, and follow if you do.**

 **I'm still unsure of what the endgame is here but it seems it's about split amongst you guys between Swan Queen and Red Swan Queen so keep up with the feedback about that. If you feel strongly enough about one over the other or something else in the story then feel free to private message me about it. I would love to hear anything you guys have to suggest or say. And my tumblr is freebeebo if you want to message me there or something.**

 **To Falling Star 134: I love the idea of Red being the one to help Emma embrace what she is. Especially because I plan on having that be a big insecurity of Emma's in a way because of how the person who turned her into a werewolf treated her. Also I really liked what you said about Regina looking past it because they both have monsters in them in a way and I definitely plan on touching on that whenever Regina finds out. Thanks for reading and your lovely review.**

 **Okay, sorry for the long ass author's note. Thanks for reading.**

 **As usual, I own nothing.**

* * *

"She should wake up pretty soon." Regina said, breaking the silence between her and Ruby. Before the werewolf could respond, the front door swung open and Henry, David, and Mary Margaret rushed through the door.

"Where's Emma? Is she okay?" Mary Margaret asked worriedly.

"She's fine, MM." Ruby said.

"Can we see her?" Henry asked. Regina looked at him sadly and sighed.

"She needs her rest. She's been through a lot and she's sleeping right now." A cough echoed through the hall from the living room and everyone turned to see Emma beginning to wake up. Henry and Snow rushed into the room to be by Emma's side with David close behind and Regina looked at Ruby. "Or at least she was."

The two women walked into the room where Emma was slowly coming to. Regina pushed the blonde's parents out of her way and then gestured for Henry to move out of her way. He hesitated for a moment before doing as his mother wanted. Regina dropped to her knees beside Emma and looked back at Henry.

"Will you go grab a glass of water? I think she's going to want it." The boy nodded emphatically and took off for the kitchen. A moment after he had left, Emma's eyes shot open and she gasped out in pain as she attempted to sit up. Regina put her hands out and pushed her back down gently.

"Careful Ms. Swan. You have a hole in your side and your heart is still recovering. You're going to be in some pain for awhile." She said softly. Henry rushed up next to her and handed her the glass of water which Regina carefully helped Emma take a sip from before setting it on the coffee table. The older woman stood up and turned to the group standing behind her. She rolled her eyes at the worry covering their faces.

"Look, Emma is tired and in a lot of pain. The last thing she needs is you all crowding her so you three need to go back to your apartment and maybe come back tomorrow to visit her." She said. Henry grinned widely while Mary Margaret and David frowned. "You're part of that three, Henry."

"But why does Ruby get to stay?!" Henry said.

"Ruby can help me watch over Emma. She doesn't have to but she's welcome to since I know she won't hover too much." Regina answered. Ruby smiled at the woman's words but it fell as Emma groaned in pain. Both women moved forward but Ruby halted to let Regina have space. The former Evil Queen placed the back of her hand on Emma's forehead and felt that it was incredibly warm. She looked at Ruby and the younger woman seemed to understand what Regina was asking her to do. Ruby turned to Emma's family and tried to slowly push them out of the room. Regina watched as the werewolf ushered the three out of the house while assuring them that Emma would be fine. Ruby walked back into the room and frowned at the blonde on the couch.

"Alright Emma, we need to get you upstairs and into a bath, okay?" Regina asked.

"No, I'm fine. I'll be okay." Emma said. Regina sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She stood and started to walk upstairs, pausing as she passed Ruby to whisper in her ear.

"I'm going to run a bath. Try and have her talked into it by the time I get back down here. I think she has a fever and we need to try and get it down." Ruby nodded and walked over to sit down on the floor so that she was at eye level with Emma. She waited until Regina was out of earshot to speak.

"How the hell are you doing it?" Emma looked at her in confusion. "You aren't shifting. Injuries this bad usually force us to shift back and forth. You haven't yet though. How?"

"I'm fighting it pretty hard. It's getting harder though. I could shift literally any moment and I don't know if I could change back on my own terms. I don't want Regina to find out though. She would never let me near Henry again."

"That's not true. She still lets me be around Henry." Ruby argued.

"Yeah but she's always wanted a reason to keep me away from Henry. This could be it for her." Emma said. Ruby thought it over for a moment but settled on the fact that Emma may be right. She still didn't think Regina would do that but she didn't want to get into an argument with the injured woman.

"Regina wants you to take a bath to bring down your fever. I don't think she'll take no for answer so for both of our sakes please just let her drag you up there." Ruby pleaded.

"Fine." Emma said, giving in after a moment of watching Ruby give her the puppy dog eyes. Suddenly, they heard Regina's footsteps as she walked down the stairs and they watched as the mayor walked up to the couch and placed her hands on her hips.

"Now, let's get you into that bath."

* * *

"So... How was your bath?" Ruby asked causing Emma to glare at her. Regina had helped the blonde back down the stairs after her bath and helped her to sit back on the couch. Ruby had been left in charge while Regina made a run to the drug store for some pain medication and then to pick up a takeout order from Granny's.

"I have never felt so awkward before. I was fine. I managed to do just fine on my own. Until I tried to wash my hair." Emma growled out as she thought back to what had happened.

 _She had been doing great. There had been practically no pain as she washed her body and tried to relax so she assumed she would be able to wash her hair without problem. She was wrong. As soon as she had lifted her arms up to her head she was filled with pain from the stretching of her torso. She tried to bite it back but she couldn't stop herself from letting out a small yells as tears came to her eyes_ _. She didn't even have a chance to cover herself before Regina burst through the door._

 _"What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked. As soon as she noticed the tears in Emma's eyes she rushed forward to help. Despite the blonde's protests, Regina sat on the edge of the tub to help but she froze when she caught sight of the many scars around Emma's body. She couldn't stop herself before her fingers ghosted over a few of them while questions about each one sat on the tip of her tongue, begging to be let loose. Her cool fingers ran along one that resembled a bite mark from a large animal on her shoulder. Emma shivered involuntarily at the feeling and Regina yanked her fingers back with an awkward cough. A moment later, she was washing Emma's hair as if nothing had just happened between them. The Savior would have probably even enjoyed the feeling of Regina's fingers combing through her hair... If she hadn't been hit with the realization two seconds in that she was in fact completely naked._

"Wow Emma... Maybe we should sign you up to be on that show Naked and Afraid." Ruby said as she laughed at the woman.

"I wasn't afraid." Emma said with a pout that only made Ruby laugh harder. The brunette went to make another joke bur she couldn't get any words out through her laughter.

"Okay, seriously? Leave me alone. I was naked." Ruby laughed even harder, pausing just long enough to respond.

"Yeah and I bet you wish she had been too, huh?" Emma glared at the brunette and growled lowly.

"Alright that's it." Emma shouted as she shot forward and pulled Ruby to the ground. The fact that she was still injured didn't even seem to occur to either girl as they playfully wrestled on the ground. The wolves in them were enjoying a chance to just have fun instead of having to be so serious. They were flopping around when suddenly they heard the lock of the door turning. The two girls shared a fearful look as they realized what Regina may do if she found them roughhousing and they scrambled apart. Regina walked through the door as Emma moved herself to quickly sit back up on the couch and wrap herself in the blanket again while Ruby grabbed a magazine and pretended to be nonchalantly flipping through it. Ruby and Emma couldn't help but take it personal that Regina was a subscriber to Cat Fancy. The former Evil Queen walked into the room and dropped the two bags on the coffee table in front of the other woman.

"Ms. Swan do you want to eat first or redo your bandages and check your stitches?" She asked.

"We can eat after." Emma said, offering the woman a smile.

"Okay so I'll just-" Regina froze and squinted at the injured woman. "Emma, are you bleeding?" Ruby's head snapped over to Emma who was looking at her side that was in fact bleeding. Regina quickly moved over and started undoing the bandaging so that she could check the wound. What she found was two of Emma's stitches being ripped out and she looked between the two women.

"What the hell were you two baboons doing while I was gone?" She said angrily. Both werewolves shrunk back at Regina's use of her "Evil Queen voice."

"We weren't doing-" Emma started before being cut off.

"We were wrestling. I didn't mean to hurt her." Ruby said, her eyes dropping to the floor. Regina glared between the two of them as the anger boiled inside her.

"Why. The fuck. Were you wrestling?" She spat out.

"She started it!" Ruby and Emma shouted simultaneously as the pointed at each other.

"I don't fucking care who started it but it better not happen again." Regina said. Both women gave small nods of understanding and Regina sighed in exasperation. She waved her hand, conjuring up a first aid kit, and she slowly took off the bandage wrapped around Emma's body.

"The amount of times we have bandaged you up is ridiculous. Stop repeatedly hurting yourself Ms. Swan." Regina mumbled. Emma frowned a little at the lack of care in Regina's voice and couldn't stop herself from speaking up.

"Why does it matter? It's not like you give a shit." Ruby watched in fear at the way Regina tensed up, but her expression changed from worry to confusion as she saw Regina's eyes soften at the hurt look on Emma's face.

"Ms. Swan... I do care." Ruby and Emma both looked at the woman expectantly as they hoped for what the older woman may say next. "You're Henry's birth mother. He needs you around whether I like it or not. I'll always care about you because what happens to you affects Henry." Emma looked away to avoid letting Regina see the rejection in her eyes but Ruby just glared at the woman for being so oblivious to the Savior's feelings. Emma had considered Regina her friend lately but the woman was just brushing her off as if she were paperwork that could be handled another day. Regina sighed when the only response she received was silence and went back to work.

It took awhile but eventually Regina managed to remove all of the stitches, clean out the wound to avoid infection, restitch the wound, and bandage Emma back up. Emma had managed to mask her pain throughout the whole ordeal, and while it didn't seem to get Regina's attention it had definitely gotten Ruby's. Everyone was tired and ready to go to bed by the time that they were finished. They decided that Ruby would stay in the Spain room and Emma would share a bed with Regina so that the mayor could watch over her to make sure she didn't pull out her stitches. Again.

Regina stood up and straightened out her jacket before holding out a hand to the blonde. Emma shook her head and forced herself to stand up on her own despite the pain and headed for the staircase. Ruby turned to Regina with her eyes shining brightly.

"Do you not see how much pain she is in? Not just physically but also emotionally because you acted like all she'll ever be is Henry's birth mother. She thought you two were becoming friends. Fix it. Follow her. Go after her. If she tries to get up those stairs by herself then she'll fall down. And guess who gets to restitch her wound again? Not me. You. That's who." She growled out. Regina was taken aback by the werewolf's outburst but decided not to start a fight given how drained all three of them were from the whole day and simply walked quickly to go catch up with Emma.

Ruby watched quietly from where she stood as Regina slipped an arm around Emma's waist and helped the blonde up the stairs. She was a little shocked by her outburst too but Emma was the closest thing she had to a pack mate and she felt the need to protect her. Although Ruby was much more skilled and knowledgeable about being a werewolf Emma had caught on quickly. The Savior was also an incredible leader and Ruby could recall her grandmother mentioning on more than one occasion that Emma had the makings of a great alpha. Of course, all werewolf knew that the only way to become an alpha was to either have your pack elect you, have the title passed down, or to have an alpha submit to you in a battle as your wolf forms. Ruby knew that when the time came she and Granny would probably have a discussion about asking Emma to become their alpha. Until then, the three of them would remain a small pack of betas without a designated alpha.

* * *

Emma woke up feeling nothing but pain. Her chest was aching from the amount of time she had to endure that her heart had been hurt and the entrance wound from the arrow was still incredibly sore. She knew that her abilities as a werewolf only went so far and despite what all of the shows on television had told her, special healing abilities were not on the list. She had to suffer just like everyone else and it was proving to be complete hell. She was willing to do anything to make the pain cease.

Regina started to slowly wake up when Emma groaned in pain. When she remembered that Emma was with her she immediately sat up and turned to the blonde who was curled into a ball with a hand above her heart.

"Ms. Swan? What's wrong?" She asked, her hands immediately moving to help but she paused and let them hover over Emma as she waited for an answer.

"You have to rip my heart out. It hurts and if you take it out then it won't hurt as much. I can't get it out. Please help." The blonde brokenly pleaded. Regina's eyes widened.

"No no no, don't do that." She whispered as she put her hands over Emma's to keep her from pulling her own heart out. "You'll still feel the pain. Your heart is a piece of you. Whether it is physically or not doesn't make any difference at all. Just leave it in there. It'll be okay. I promise." Emma hesitantly allowed Regina to pull her hands away and the older woman reached over to her nightstand to grab the glass of water and bottle of painkillers. She didn't know where they had come from until the realization hit her and she told herself that she would have to thank Ruby in the morning for thinking ahead. Regina helped Emma to sit up slightly so she could take the pain medication. Once she had, Regina helped her to lay down and pulled the blonde gently into her body, careful not to bother her injury. Emma stiffened for a few seconds before relaxing into the mayor's body.

"Regina?" She whispered so quietly that Regina didn't know if she had actually said it.

"Yes Ms. Swan?"

"Can you stop calling me Ms. Swan? I prefer my friends call me Emma and I kind of consider you a friend by now. Especially after everything you've been doing to help me, even if it is all just for Henry. Thank you again for helping though." Regina nodded and smiled to herself at the thought of finally having a friend she could trust.

"Okay, Emma it is then." Silence ensued for a few more moments. Regina spent them staring at Emma's face and memorizing each of it's features. She stopped though when she saw the blonde wince.

"Where does it hurt, Emma?" She asked softly. Emma turned her head and glanced at her.

"My chest. I never want to get shot again. Especially not with an arrow. Especially not in the Enchanted Forest. And especially not deep enough that it nicks my heart." Emma said through gritted teeth before a sob made its way out of her throat because of all the pain. Regina nodded in understanding and placed a hand over Emma's heart. Emma gave her a suspicious look but didn't say anything. She too knew how irritating being shot at with a bow and arrow in the Enchanted Forest was even though she didn't know, nor did she want to know, what it felt like to be pierced with one. Her heart ached for the Savior though as she watched her suffer.

"I don't want to heal you because I've never mixed magic and medicine and I don't want to risk something bad happening but I can try and bring some comfort if that'll help?" Regina offered. Emma nodded so fast that Regina swore she looked like one of those New York Yankees bobble heads she had bought Henry before. She used her magic to ease as much pain as she could for the blonde before collapsing back onto the bed and pulling the blonde woman back into her body.

Healing and helping with pain took a lot of energy from magic users and Regina was no exception. She knew she would do it again no matter what though when she saw the content smile playing on Emma's lips as the pain faded even if it was just momentarily. The blonde snuggled into her and nestled her face into the crook of Regina's neck with a light sigh. Regina couldn't prevent the smile from breaking out across her face as she felt Emma's breath even out when the woman finally managed to beat the pain and fall asleep. Regina's fingers found their way to the scar on Emma's shoulder again and she frowned at the thought of what could possibly have done that. Whatever it had been, Regina promised herself to make sure that monster never touched Emma again. Henry needed her and Regina was starting to feel like she did too.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay so there's chapter two. I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for reading.**

 **Don't forget to give me some input on Swan Queen vs Red Swan Queen. Also, do you guys think that Emma should tell Regina the truth about her being a werewolf or should she just wait it out for her to find out? And when do you think she should find out?**

 **Feel free to ask questions about anything and I'll always answer them in the next chapter's author's note.**

 **One last thing, the person who turned Emma into a werewolf is going to be a fairytale/folklore character that will be introduced later as an important character in the story and whoever (if anyone) is the first person who can guess who the character is will get a reward.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

 **Thank you all so much for your follows, favorites, and kind words in your reviews. Every review makes me smile and I love reading what you all have to say. You guys are the best.**

 **Okay so, by the end of this chapter you guys will probably be asking, "Will Emma ever catch a break?" and the answer is no. No she will not.**

 **So I do have an issue I need some help with. I probably won't spend much time on the Cora storyline just because I wasn't a big fan of it but I do know where I'm going with it. However, next on the list is Neverland which has me stumped in a little area. So if anyone has any ideas or suggestions about how Emma being a werewolf could affect their trip to Neverland then please do share. I appreciate any suggestions you guys have.**

 **To miichal. kucharic: It will definitely be discussed in a later chapter more in depth but Emma was bitten and turned into a werewolf after she was released from prison but before she came to Storybrooke.**

 **To Sarconistia: If you liked the Cat Fancy line then just wait for the kitten storyline I have planned.**

 **To guestwho: Ruby and Regina are both definitely going to play a part in helping Emma adjust to being a werewolf because you'll see throughout the story that it's definitely not something she's just accepted about herself. Also, don't worry about the "essay" because 1. I love those kind of reviews and 2. My author's note is basically an essay too**

 **Surprisingly enough by the way, it seems you guys are leaning towards RSQ over SQ. Which is understandable since there's a huge lack of RSQ fics but it still shocked me. There's still time to decide though and for you guys to plead your cases because either way I think you guys may be in for a slow burn.**

 **Sorry again for dragging this out on you guys. I'm finally done talking. Hope you enjoy. As usual, I own nothing.**

* * *

 _This is bad. Very very bad._ Emma thought to herself. Ruby had gone to get a shower and Regina was at her office and Emma had just wanted a cup of coffee. She had forced herself back up off the couch and into the kitchen and then it happened. She shifted. She turned into a wolf in the middle of Regina's very nice kitchen and she was screwed. Henry was supposed to be coming over to see her and she couldn't let him find out about her. She couldn't get herself to shift back though as it was one of the side effects of being an injured werewolf. She had little to no control over when she shifted back and forth. She had to make sure Henry didn't see her like that, but in the state she was in she didn't have much control over her appearance or her emotions. Emma was terrified of what she may do, and when she heard the front door open she knew that she felt that way for a good reason.

* * *

Regina had gone into the office the next morning to fill out some paperwork and had left Emma and Ruby alone after making them promise not to wrestle around again. She was about to start the second stack of paperwork on her desk when she heard heard a poofing sound from in front of her. She looked up to see her mother standing in front of her with a small smile. Regina stood and frowned at Cora.

"How did you get here?" She asked with venom lacing her voice.

"A portal of course. I want to work things out between us. I know why you sent me through the looking glass. And I know why you tried to have me killed. And it's... It's alright." Regina's eyes watered but she promised herself that she wouldn't let the tears fall.

"I think it's not alright." She said.

"I love you." Cora said. "I just, I've always shown it in all the wrong ways. And I never should have made you marry the king. I'm so sorry. When you cried over my coffin it all changed. I want to help you though. I want to help you get Henry back."

"What are you talking about?" Regina asked.

"Let's be honest, as long as Emma and her parents are here he's not really yours. Not like he was before. You've been too bad for too long and now they see you as a snake." Cora observed Regina's reaction before continuing. "You don't want their love. What do you want?"

"My son back." Regina whispered.

"And I want my daughter back. I meant everything I said earlier. I am so sorry. I can do better. I won't push you away again. Let me into your heart. Together we can get him back again." Cora said as she reached out and pulled Regina into a hug.

"How?" She asked.

"I have few thoughts." Cora said. Suddenly their moment was interrupted by Regina's phone ringing. She looked over and when she saw her son's name across the screen she picked it up and held it to her ear.

"Henry?" She said. Worry filled her voice when the thought that he may be calling about Emma since he was supposed to visit crossed her mind.

 _"Mom, there's a wolf in your house and I can't find Emma! I think someone took her. You have to help!"_ Regina froze as the line went dead.

"What?! Henry hold on, I'm on my way!" She said to herself before turning to her mother. "You stay out of the way. We'll continue this discussion later." She said before running out of the office to go rescue her son.

* * *

"Henry? Where are you?" Regina shouted as she ran through the front door. She spotted Henry standing in front of the entrance to the kitchen and she rushed over to him. She was about to start checking him over for various injuries when she saw the large wolf standing her kitchen. It's coat was thick and white and it's eyes were a bright golden color. It was definitely bigger than Ruby was as a wolf and Regina couldn't deny that even she was intimidated as it let out a low growl. She heard footsteps from upstairs and remembered that Ruby was there.

"Ruby!" Regina hissed. The footsteps grew louder and suddenly the young brunette was down the stairs and looking at them in confusion.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she stepped over. She froze when she saw the wolf and she pushed the duo to the side before shifting. Regina and Henry watched as the two wolves stood face to face, growling at each other. The white wolf lunged forward at Ruby and the two rolled on the ground for a moment, biting and clawing at each other until the white wolf grabbed Ruby by the scruff her neck with it's teeth and tossed her to the side like a rag doll. The wolf turned and set it's sights on Regina and Henry. The beast stalked towards them with it's teeth bared in a defensive snarl and Regina barely reacted in time as it leaped towards them. She used magic and sent it flying backwards into the island with a loud yelp. It scrambled to get up and took off out the door. Ruby stood and looked over Regina and Henry before taking off after the wolf. Regina attempted to catch her breath as she held tightly to her son.

"Henry?!" Someone shouted. The pair in front of the kitchen turned to see Mary Margaret and David running through the front door. They both released a sigh of relief as they made their way towards Henry and Regina.

"You were supposed to wait for us before you came over. You scared us to death." Mary Margaret said. She looked up at the mother and son for a moment before noticing the look on their faces. "What happened? Where's Emma?"

"We don't know. We think she was taken. There was huge wolf in here when I got home. It was white and had bright gold eyes. It tried to attack us but we were able to scare it off. Ruby took off after it." Regina said. Mary Margaret's face fell. The wolf at the brunette had just described was Emma and if she had actually tried to attack them then that meant her daughter didn't have control and Ruby was in serious danger.

"We have to go help Ruby. Come on." She told the other three before taking off to find Ruby and Emma.

* * *

Belle was walking through the forest casually as she read when a deep growl sounded from behind her. She froze and turned slowly to find a large white wolf. It bared it's teeth to show it's sharp canines and gave a rough bark as it stalked towards her. Belle tried to step away carefully and keep the distance between she and the wolf but she stumbled over a tree root that was sticking out and the wolf lunged forward with a snarl. Belle screamed as the beast clamped it's jaws down on her ankle and yanked her to the side. It jumped onto her and she threw her fists at it's snout as she tried to fight off it's snapping jaws. The wolf bit down on her shoulder and started to drag her backwards into the forest but it let go of it's hold as something barreled into it. Belle struggled to get away but she couldn't stand and was forced to move along the ground to hide in a nearby bush. Belle watched as the other creature, which she realized was Ruby, battled against the white wolf. Belle heard a group shouting from the direction Ruby had just come from.

"Down here! Help!" Belle yelled. In mere moments Regina, Henry, and David came running towards her with Mary Margaret leading the way. The group knelt down to look at her injuries and help her and she watched in the distance as the wolf that had attacked her managed to get from Ruby's hold. It turned it's attention to them and growled. The group turned to look at the wolf as it stalked towards them and David stood up and aimed his gun at it.

"David... Don't." Mary Margaret whispered, her eyes wide with fear for her daughter. The wolf ignored the gun and kept moving forward. David was about to pull the trigger when Ruby, who had turned out of her wolf form a moment before, ran forward and knocked him to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing Miss. Lucas?!" Regina shouted angrily before using her magic to send the wolf flying back against a tree. It hit the tree with a loud yelp and a sickening crunch. Regina smirked at her success. "If you people can't get the job done then I will."

Emma could feel herself getting close to shifting back into her human and forced herself not to and to get up. She stumbled around for a moment but managed to regain her footing so that she could take off at a sprint to get away from her friends and family. Ruby stood up and went to follow behind her but David caught her around the waist.

"Stop. We can go after that beast later. Right now we need to get you and Belle back into town and to the hospital." He told her. Ruby's head turned quickly to Belle, who was on the ground with bite marks and scratches along her arms, legs, and shoulders, and she nodded. She had never been so grateful that Emma wasn't an alpha yet or she would have turned Belle into a werewolf. David leaned down and picked up Belle in his arms effortlessly. He headed out of the forest with everyone else in tow.

* * *

Ruby, Regina, and Mary Margaret were sitting in the hospital waiting room and Henry had gone with David to get Mr. Gold. Belle was going to be okay but she was being kept overnight and would need a few weeks to recover completely. Ruby however, had checked out okay. She had couple of cuts but that was it. The biggest problem for her was the fact that she knew Emma was out there alone and hurt and scared. Not to mention that the dwarves had organized a wolf hunt and Emma would either end up dead or doing something she would regret. Ruby knew that she had to go find her but she couldn't do it alone. She could take Mary Margaret but she knew that Regina's magic would be much more helpful. She turned in her chair to look at the former Evil Queen and knew that what she was about to say would either be incredibly helpful or incredibly dangerous.

"Regina... I need your help. I know how to find Emma." Mary Margaret and Regina's heads both snapped up to look at the werewolf.

"Why do you need my help?" She asked.

"Because I'll need your magic to protect all three of us." She said. Mary Margaret wanted nothing more than to come clean to the former Evil Queen about her daughter's status as a werewolf but she knew that it wasn't her place to tell. She chose to give Ruby and Regina a moment alone to discuss things so she stood and quietly left. Ruby cleared her throat and leaned into Regina's ear to whisper to her. "Just trust me when I say that Emma is in danger if we don't find her quickly." Regina's eyes narrowed and she looked at Ruby in confusion before deciding not to push it after a moment.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"The forest. Behind your house more specifically." Ruby said. Regina nodded and took Ruby's hand in hers before poofing them to the chosen location. Regina breathed out into the cool air and looked around.

"So... How do we find her?" Regina asked as she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets.

"I'm gonna sniff her out." Ruby said with a smile as she started walking deeper into the forest. Regina followed closely behind. Ruby couldn't help but worry more and more about Emma. There was a hunting party led by Leroy out there and they would kill Emma if they found her.

They walked in a comfortable silence together for awhile before they heard shouting coming their way. They turned to see Leroy leading a group of citizens from Storybrooke around with torches and weapons. Regina rolled her eyes as they approached. The group looked like they were an angry mob straight out of Frankenstein.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Leroy asked, eyeing Regina suspiciously.

"Definitely not running in circles and literally crying wolf like some people." Regina said. He glared at her angrily.

"Listen here, I'm leading this hunting party and we're going to track down that vicious wolf and kill it. We're doing the town a favor."

"Well next time the town needs a favor then I'll make sure everyone knows not to put the village idiot in charge." Regina spat back.

"You know what..." Ruby took her chance and slipped away to go find Emma so that she wouldn't have to spill the Savior's secret to anyone. Leroy and Regina could both argue with a brick wall so together they made the perfect distraction. She briskly followed the scent a little further until she found a ball of white fur curled up near a tree.

"Emma?" Ruby called out.

The wolf perked it's head up at hearing Ruby and looked at her with nothing but fear in it's eyes. The wolf watched her for a moment before it struggled to get up and Ruby frowned as it let out a pained whimper. Ruby rushed forward.

"Emma, I know that you're probably in a lot of pain but you're in danger and I need you to try your hardest to change back so I can get you out of here. The wolves eyes changed from gold to green and the fur disappeared and the bones realigned and reshape themselves revealing Emma in the place of her wolf. The blonde gasped out in pain and her arms wrapped tightly around her ribcage.

"Yeah, I know. We have to go though. Regina will get us back to her place." Ruby told her as she put her arms under Emma and lifted her up bridal style. Ruby ran through the woods with Emma held tightly against her chest until she reached where Regina and Leroy were still arguing.

"Regina, she's hurt. We need to get her back to your place." Ruby said in a worried tone. The mayor turned around to see Ruby holding Emma tightly to her chest and she rushed towards them. She wanted nothing more than to help Emma right then and there but it wasn't the time or place and she knew that all too well.

"Okay, um, just a moment." Regina said. She looked at Emma worriedly for a moment before reaching a hand out to touch Ruby's arm. Ruby shared a silent look with Emma and then gave Regina the nod to get them back to the mayor's house. Regina waved her free hand and the three of them disappeared in a cloud of purple dust, leaving the hunting party to a search for a wolf that wouldn't be found.

The three woman opened their eyes to find themselves gathered on top of Regina's bed. Emma was still gasping for air and Ruby was helping the blonde to get her jacket off.

"Ms. Swan tell me what hurts? Did you pull out your stitches again?" She asked in concern while her hands hovered over the woman in question while waiting for something to do to help.

"No, but my ribs hurt. I think I broke them earlier." Emma said as Ruby tried to get her shirt off. The Savior grunted in pain and gave Ruby a soft shove back. Her hands went to the center of the shirt and she ripped it off of her and into two pieces with ease. Both women stared at her incredulously. "It hurt to try and pull it up over my head. I didn't like that shirt much anyway though so it doesn't matter."

"Damn." Ruby whispered. "That was hot, Ems." Emma blushed and Regina cleared her throat as she turned her attention to the deep blue and purple bruising that was painted across the blonde's ribcage like one of Henry's kindergarten finger paintings.

"Oh Emma..." Regina said softly. "Ms. Lucas can you go get that first aid kit we left in the living room and also grab an ice pack out of the freezer?" Ruby gave a nod and forced herself to tear her eyes away from Emma's battered torso as she left the room and headed to go get what Regina had asked for. Regina helped Emma to lay back on the bed and sat beside her, gently stroking her fingers through the blonde hair as they waited for Ruby to return. After a minute or so, the other werewolf came through the door and sat everything on the bed beside Regina, who pulled out disinfectant and quickly started tending to all of the small cuts along Emma's body. Ruby held Emma still and comforted her while Regina went about her work. Once Regina was finished she sat everything aside on the bedside table and placed the ice pack against Emma's ribs before sliding into the bed next to the blonde. Ruby watched silently for a moment before deciding to speak.

"I'm going to go watch over Belle for the night but I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning. Call me if anything happens and I'll be right over, okay?" She asked quietly.

"Okay. Let us know how she's doing tomorrow." Regina whispered back. Ruby left silently and Regina looked over at Emma who was sleeping soundly but with her brow furrowed. Regina couldn't even begin to think up a scenario about what had happened to Emma without it terrifying her but she knew that whatever it was, it had affected the blonde a great deal.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So fun fact. I was about to post this chapter and in it, Regina found out that Emma was a werewolf. But then I saw a review and thought about where all I could take the relationship between them if I dragged it out. Which was insane because I had to rewrite like half of this chapter to make it all work when I was like 30 seconds from posting the update all because of a review. I think it will really better the story though.**

 **So I just wanted to say that I love getting suggestions from you guys about things in the story. It could be something in the Frozen storyline or the Dark Swan storyline and I still want to hear it. The things you say can really be helpful and I appreciate it so much so keep leaving reviews. I appreciate them so much.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

 **I just keep updating. I don't know how I'm getting chapters out this quick but it's definitely fun. I also have an idea for two new fics I want to start writing. One is a firefighter/paramedic AU and the other is a baseball AU. I don't know if I will write them but I would definitely like to. I mean, would any of you guys read either of those anyway?**

 **Another thing, you guys are still welcome to guess at who the character that bit Emma was. Expect him to come around in the Zelena storyline. You may be able to make a better guess after this chapter since there's some flashback to time she spent with him. This chapter also gives you guys your first good look at Ruby being a werewolf guru for Emma.**

 **I'm still stuck between Red Swan Queen and Swan Queen but I think that if I went with Swan Queen then it would probably include Red Beauty. I have neutral feelings towards Rumbelle so I don't know at this point.**

 **Italics are flashbacks by the way. And basically in this fic, Greg Mendell does hit Captain Hook with his car but Belle isn't there for everything because she's already at the hospital with an injury. Whoops. Poor Belle.**

 **Thanks for all of the feedback. Please keep it up. It means a lot to me.**

 **I still own nothing.**

* * *

 _Emma woke up in a cave. It was a small cave with a wooden door that had a rusty knob at the end of it. It had a twin bed with plain sheets, a large wooden chest that matched the door, and a desk with an ink quill and some old looking parchment or paper. There were two torches hung in the room keeping it dimly lit._ _Emma probably would have mistaken the place for some castle but the stone floor and the cold and damp feeling of the room led her to think otherwise. She slid out of bed and stood up. Her shoulder was throbbing and she found that it was covered by a bandage. She didn't bother to look under it out of fear of what she may find. She took in her surroundings for a moment before heading for the door. She opened it carefully and looked out to find doors like hers that probably opened up to similar rooms leading down both ends of the cave wall for what could have easily been a block or two on each side._

 _"Well hello there. Glad to see you've finally graced us with your presence." A voice rang from beside her. Emma spun on her heels and looked at the man next to her. He was probably a little over six feet tall and he was fairly muscular. His skin was just a little darker than hers, like he had simply managed to get a better tan. Emma figured he probably spent more time out of the cave than in it. He had a five o'clock shadow working for him along with his dark brown hair that was short on the sides and long on the top. His eyes were a dark hazel and his sly smile left Emma feeling a little too comfortable. He was wearing ripped jeans and an almost charcoal colored tank top. She had to hand it to him, he was attractive. It didn't make her any less weary of him though._

 _"Who the fuck are you?" She growled out. He gave a small laugh as he reached out his hand for her to shake._

 _"I'm Nick." He said as she took his hand in hers and gave it a small shake. "We have a lot of things to talk about."_

* * *

"Emma, it's okay. You didn't mean to hurt her." Ruby assured the blonde. Emma looked up at her from where she was pacing the floor of Regina's living room floor and glared.

"It doesn't matter what I did or didn't mean to do. The point is that I did it. I hurt Belle. Someone who has been nothing but nice to me since I met them." Emma said. "I need to have better control over myself."

"Granny and I have both told you how to do that and you won't listen to me or her." Ruby growled out. Emma rolled her eyes.

"There has to be another way. I refuse to come to peace with this. I can't ever be at peace with the fact that I'm a fucking monster." She snapped. Ruby glared at her and took a step forward.

"So what does that mean? Do you think that I'm a monster too?" Ruby spat. Emma's face fell.

"No... But you can control your wolf. You don't do things that get other people hurt. I'm dangerous." She said as her voice dropped to a whisper. "I could hurt Henry." Ruby's eyes softened.

"I've told you about what happened with Peter. I've hurt people I cared about too. It doesn't mean that I'm dangerous. I learned to control this and you can too. You have to trust me though. You have to be able to accept the wolf as part of you. It's more than accepting that you're a werewolf. That's too easy. You have to accept that you and the wolf are almost like a much nicer version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You share that body with a wolf and it will share it's body with you. The wolf can't control you right now but if you were to shift then you couldn't control the wolf. That's why you hurt Belle. That's why you almost attacked Regina and Henry. You couldn't control the wolf and it was scared and it felt cornered. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Ruby asked.

"Kind of." Emma said with a small shrug. Ruby thought quietly for a moment about how to better explain the wolves actions.

"Think of it like this. You and the wolf have two different minds and thoughts... But you share your body. When you shift, the wolf gets to dictate your thoughts and actions. Just like how right now, the wolf isn't dictating thoughts and actions because it's your body. When you shifted last night, the wolf didn't recognize Regina, Henry, and Belle as friends. It was injured and scared and so therefore it attacked. Just like how when you got that apple turnover from Regina, you didn't smell the sleeping curse. Sure, you can smell food and people from a mile away but you can't smell magical things. The wolf can though because it's a magical creature. If you accept the wolf, then you'll be able to hear and smell all of the things that the wolf could without having to shift into the wolf. You would also be able to hear the wolf's thoughts. Just as when you are in your wolf form, the wolf would be able to hear your thoughts. Which means you could calm it down and tell it when someone is or isn't an enemy. And in enough time and practice, you could control both sides for the most part." Ruby said. Emma nodded slowly.

"So if I accept the wolf as part of me... Then I can do all of those things?" She asked. Ruby smiled.

"Exactly." She answered.

"Okay," Emma said. "I still need time to take things in. This isnt what I was initially taught so it's just... It's difficult to wrap my head around."

"Take your time," Ruby said sincerely. "I know it's difficult. Just remember that he always has and always will be a liar."

* * *

 _"The wolf should be feared. It can take control and destroy everything you love. It demands respect from those around it. The wolf is one of the most powerful creatures. You are a wolf now. You're feared and deemed a monster just like the rest of us, Emma. We have wear that title for what it is. We are monsters. Horrible creatures that would murder our own families if given the chance. You will never escape the label of a monster but you will live with it nonetheless. If people want to call us monsters then that's what we'll be." Nick said passionately. "Shift whenever the fuck you want and run rampant. Be a monster. It's not like anyone could love you now that you're one of us."_

 _"Why did you bite me? It sounds like you hate being a werewolf." Emma asked in confusion._

 _"I don't. I'm a werewolf. I've accepted that for what it is. I am a monster who was cursed against my will and who is impossible to love and will destroy everything around me. So I'm careful around anything that I dare to care about. It's better to just build up walls and never let anyone in so that you can't hurt them. I used to hate being this. But now I've learned to deal with it and accept the perks that are thrown my way. I've allowed my wolf to attack and kill people many times. If I keep the wolf's hunger for destruction fed then it will do what I want. Everything I teach you, I learned from my own alpha."_

 _"You didn't answer my question." Emma stated. "Why did you bite me?" Nick sighed and ran a hand through his hair._

 _"We needed more wolves here to help us stay protected from outsiders." He told her as he gestured to the small village built into the cave. "You're welcome to leave. But if you do then you have to at least do as I ask. Either become the monster or try to ignore it's existence."_

* * *

"Miss Lucas, I do hope that you haven't let Miss Swan out of bed without good reason. You and I agreed that she should be kept on bed rest until further notice if I'm not mistaken." Regina said as she walked from the kitchen to the living room where Ruby and Emma were standing awkwardly. The mayor put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow at the pair of guilty women. Emma wiped the expression off her face and replaced it with a fake irritated one.

"Regina, I'm fine. It's just some scratches and bruises." Emma whined.

"Liar." Ruby said between fake coughs. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Despite her pathetic and childish attempt at implying it, I do agree with Miss Lucas. Three broken ribs and an arrow wound are not 'scratches and bruises,' Miss Swan." Regina said. Ruby and Emma both frowned.

"Ruby." The brunette stated at the same time Emma stated, "Emma."

"Yes, fine. In that case Ruby, help Emma back to bed and I'll be there in a moment with lunch." Regina said, annunciating the two women's names clearly to make a point before waving her hand and poofing them back up to her bedroom. Emma involuntarily growled and Ruby laughed loudly.

"I know you meant to be menacing Ems but that was adorable." Ruby said. Emma's face turned to a small pout and she folded her arms across her chest causing Ruby to laugh again. Once she had caught her breath, the brunette pointed at the bed seriously.

"No." Emma said defiantly.

"Get in the damn bed, woman." Ruby said.

"You can't make me." Emma sneered. Ruby smirked at her flirtatiously.

"Oh really?" She asked as she walked towards the blonde. Emma gulped and backed away from Ruby until the back of her knees hit the bed.

"Now I've got you right where I want you." Ruby said with a wide smile and a wink before gently pushing Emma back onto the bed. Before the Savior could move to get up Ruby had climbed on top of her and was straddling her waist.

"Fuck." Emma gasped quietly. Ruby smirked and leaned down slowly. Her lips inched closer to Emma's before pausing within only a couple of centimeters and Emma wanted nothing more in that moment than to close the distance between them. Just as she was about to the sound of someone clearing their throat echoed through the room and the two women jumped apart. Regina watched them with her eyebrows raised and a look of shock, or maybe it was jealousy, covering her face like a mask.

"No sex on my bed. Or any bed in this house for that matter." She said, eyeing the two carefully as she walked forward with a tray of food.

"So the kitchen table it is then." Ruby quipped. Regina's eyes snapped to hers and Ruby gave her a look of innocence.

"I'm just saying, Emma has the urges of a teenage boy, we have to do it somewhere." Ruby stated as if it were obvious. Emma's jaw dropped.

"Hey!"

* * *

 _Emma didn't know how things had gotten to the point they had. She had taken time to make her decision and then told Nick that she wanted to leave the pack. He'd been accepting at first but when she had tried to leave later that night things had gone very wrong._

 _She had just left the cave when someone had crept up behind her and thrown her to the ground. She panicked and screaming as the threw punches. A few of hers made contact and then the fighting stopped. She looked to the sides of her and could see the twin brothers that Nick had spoken to earlier. She was about to leap up and try to take them on when a deep growl echoed through the forest around them. Emma looked ahead as a large dark grey wolf stepped out from the shadows. It barked angrily at her several times before leaping forward. It's claws dragged along her back as she tried to crawl away. Her instincts were saying fight and flight at the same time and she didn't know which to choose so she swung a leg out, kicking the wolf in the face, and scrambled away from the two brothers as it tried to shake off the pain. Emma ran as quickly as she could until she reached a road and walked from there until she reached a bus stop. The entire way home from Boston, all she could think was that she recognized those blue eyes the wolf had._

* * *

"Hello? Mary Margaret." Emma asked through the phone.

"Emma, how are you doing? Has Regina been okay to you lately?" Her mother asked. Emma's brow furrowed.

"Um, I'm okay. I've been better. I have some broken ribs and of course the whole arrow thing. Thanks for that again." She said playfully. "Regina has been fine though. Granted, Ruby is here most of the time too so they keep each other in check."

"That's good." Mary Margaret said. Emma heard some rustling on the phone for a moment. "I put it on speaker. Your dad is here."

"Hey Emma!" David said. Emma smiled softly to herself.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked.

"Actually... That's why we called. There's something up. Somethings actually. There's two problems we may have on our hands." He said. Emma's face fell as she listened.

"The first one is that Cora and Captain Hook somehow managed to get to Storybrooke. We think that Cora is going to try and do something to you or me so she may try and enlist Regina to help. Whatever she's here for though, she's determined. She brought a travel sized giant with her." May Margaret said.

"Oh no. Okay. We can figure it out. What's the other problem?"

"There's someone new in Storybrooke." David said.

"What? I thought that couldn't happen?" Emma asked in shock.

"We didn't either." Mary Margaret said, confusion still clear in her voice.

"He was in a car accident. His name is Greg Mendell. He's seems normal but... Something is off about him. We think he may be up to something." Emma pondered it for a moment.

"It's definitely possible with all of the shit that happens around here. Just keep an eye on him and watch out for Cora and Hook. I'll be out to help you guys as soon as I can but Regina is pretty strict about this bed rest so there isn't much I can do right now."

"We understand. Take care of yourself, Emma." Mary Margaret told her. The trio shared goodbyes and then hung up. Emma set her phone on the bedside table and looked up to see Ruby walking through the bedroom door and over to her.

"Do you know who Greg Mendell is?" Ruby shook her head silently and crawled into bed with the blonde.

"Regina's mother is in town." Emma said offhandedly and Ruby snorted.

"This place has become a total shit fest. Why am I not surprised that she's here?" Emma chuckled and then realized that Ruby had wrapped her arms tightly around Emma's waist.

"Really Rubes?" She asked with a laugh.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Both girls glanced up to see Regina looking at them like they were complete idiots.

"You know what? I don't even care." The mayor said in a frustrated tone as she got into bed on the other side of Emma.

"Wow someone is grumpy." Ruby remarked.

"Actually no, if I'm not mistaken he's downtown getting drunk at the moment and crying about not getting to be the hero." Regina said casually. Ruby and Emma both burst into laughter until Emma was grabbing at her ribcage in pain.

"Shh, calm down." Regina whispered as she helped Emma to catch her breath. Once Emma seemed to be in good enough condition Ruby helped her to lay down and wrapped her arms around the blonde carefully. Regina was more comfortable with facing the opposite side of the room so she ended up facing the two other women to sleep. Emma managed to lay comfortably between the two women where she felt safer than ever and it was there that she was the first of them to fall asleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Just some last little things that I think I should address.**

 **1\. Sorry there wasn't much action. It's kind of a filler chapter but it was good for getting in some background information. I'll honestly be really shocked if any of you guess what character Nick is.**

 **2\. If you want more of a visual about what Nick looks like then look up Kostas Martakis. He's a Greek model and he's kind of what I picture Nick looking like.**

 **3\. I'm not going to include Neal in this fic because I don't feel like his story really fits in here and I wouldn't be able to do justice to both he and Emma. We can live without him. I hope that doesn't break any hearts but if it does then please feel free to message me about it and we can talk it out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

 **Thanks again for all the positive feedback you guys have been giving me. I have a Once Upon a Time tumblr if you want to check it out. I take prompts on there too. The url is darkswan-evilqueen.**

 **TheChosenSlayer5by5: You want another hint? Hm... It's nothing Disney or Pixar but if it helps then Kostas Martakis being the person who I said Nick looks like isn't a coincidence. I chose that Greek model for a reason. There's also a hint hidden in chapter three. Good luck!**

 **Oh and before I forget. I never got much of a response about it but would any of you be interested in a firefighter/paramedic AU or a baseball AU? I've also thought here and there about a fic where Emma somehow gets turned into a dog and Regina doesn't know and ends up keeping her as a gift to Henry. I'm not sure yet though. I don't want to bother writing it if nobody will even read it.**

 **This chapter is pretty fast paced but like I've said, I just didn't really feel this storyline. I'm only writing through it because it was a good place to start. I hope you guys will still review, favorite, and follow if you enjoy. I love getting feedback from you guys. I cut out all of the Greg and Tamara stuff because a lot of it felt forced when I tried to write it and also because it was hard to just cut Neal out of it without tearing the whole thing apart but I hope it doesn't bug any of you guys that it's gone. Basically, the whole storyline for those two has been ripped away and their arrival in Storybrooke was purely to get Henry. No fail safe, no torture... Just kidnapping Henry and heading to Neverland. I promise it will be better once we get there.** **Heads up, this update has a bit of a time jump. It's taking place a few days after the last chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoy this update despite my changes and the long ass author's note. I apologize. It wasn't my intention to make it this long.**

 **As always, I own nothing.**

 **Edit: This chapter was edited on September 1, 2016 and new information was added.**

* * *

Ruby had headed to the diner to work a few hours and, after spending far too much time trying to convince Emma to stay in bed, Regina had ended up on her living room couch where she was filling out paperwork. She would have gone into her office but it didn't take a genius to know that Emma would have gotten out of bed the moment she left.

"This is the perfect opportunity." Regina spun around at Cora's voice and frowned.

"Mother, what are you doing here? And what do you mean? What is this the perfect opportunity for?" Cora smiled and stepped towards her with her hands folded in front of her.

"Isn't obvious dear? The Savior is incapacitated. If you want your son back then you'll have to do it now. We can get the Dark One's dagger. Once we control Rumplestilskin we can have him kill Snow White and her prince... And their daughter too." She said. Regina's face fell and her eyes briefly flitted to the staircase. "Don't tell me you've gotten attached to that woman while she's been in your care?"

"Mother... I've worked hard to have this trust with Henry. He wants me to be good and I'm trying. For him. He would never forgive me if I let something happen to Emma or her parents." Regina said. It wasn't a lie but it also wasn't the real reason that the mayor was so apprehensive.

"Look dear, I understand you being a little... Hesitant. I only want what's best for you though. If you would like to help then you may join me." Cora said as she began to leave. She was only a step or two from the door when Regina's voice rang out.

"Mother, wait!" Cora turned as her daughter pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number quickly. Regina held the phone to her ear and tapped her foot impatiently until a voice on the other end answered.

"Regina? Is Emma okay?" Ruby asked instantly.

"She's fine. I need to leave though. I have some important business to attend to. Do you think you could get back here and watch over Miss Swan while I'm gone?" Regina asked politely. She heard Granny and Ruby arguing for a moment before the younger woman returned to the phone.

"Yeah sure, I'll be there in a bit." Ruby told her.

"Thank you," Regina said. "There's a bottle of pain medication on the television stand in my room if Emma is in too much pain at all while I'm gone." She then hung up and grabbed her coat as she followed her mother quickly out the door.

* * *

"Emma, wake up. Something's happened and we need to leave." Emma didn't budge. "Dammit Ems wake the fuck up." Ruby said with a rough shake. The blonde groaned in pain as her eyes opened slowly and she smiled at the brunette in front of her.

"Hey Rubes," She then noticed the distress across Ruby's face and she sat up quickly, wincing a in pain. "What happened?"

"Emma... Cora and Regina tried to take Mr. Gold's dagger." Ruby said softly. Emma frowned and furrowed her brow. "Regina was working with Cora and your mom... Mary Margaret did something bad. She feels horrible about it but... There's nothing we can do about it anymore. Emma... Mary Margaret had this candle that could exchange one life for another and... You know Rumplestilskin was poisoned and..." Ruby stumbled over the words for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Mary Margaret used the candle to exchange Cora's life for Rumplestilskin. She killed Regina's mother and Regina is furious. David and I agreed that she shouldn't be taking care of you anymore."

Emma was in complete shock. She was angry with everyone around her. Her father and David were making decisions for her. Regina had turned against her. Her mother had killed Cora. She got out of the bed before standing up and glaring at Ruby. She mumbled "Fine." and then started to leave. Ruby sighed as the blonde took off in frustration. She knew that Regina had good reason to be angry but she had been on Cora's side. Ruby couldn't help but be terrified of what may happen to Emma after Mary Margaret had mentioned that Cora said that once she, Charming, and Emma were out of the way then Regina would never have to share Henry.

* * *

It had been a couple of days and Emma was not okay. She was angry. She was in pain. And she wanted to lay down but David was too busy trying to help her mother so the Savior didn't have much of an option except to head into the station. Someone had to watch over the town. Especially since Pongo had gotten out and needed to be caught. Emma had ran around town looking for him until she finally chased him down the street to catch him. She was exhausted by the time she had returned to the station and she had sat around in her office before deciding that the chair was too uncomfortable and she went to lay down in one of the cells. It was still uncomfortable but it was a little better.

She thought for a little bit about the conversation she had shared with her mother before heading into the station that morning. Mary Margaret had told her about how Mr. Gold had found a way to leave town and had travelled to New York in search of his son. When he had gotten there, he found him. It turned out that his son, Baelfire, had been going by the name of Neal Cassidy. Emma's first reaction was to break everything around her and throw anything she could find out of anger. Instead, she had sat in silence as her mother went on about everything until realizing that Emma had gone quiet. After being fiercely interrogated, she caved and told Mary Margaret that Neal was Henry's father. There had been a moment of silence and then it disappeared as Mary Margaret told her that Mr. Gold had found that out when he mentioned Emma breaking the curse but he hadn't managed to get Neal to return with him. Neal had promised to consider making a trip down to Storybrooke one day though. Emma sincerely hoped he wouldn't. She was drifting off when she heard the sound of heels clicking on the linoleum floor. The clicking stopped suddenly but Emma didn't seem to notice.

"Sheriff Swan?" Emma jumped at the sound and fell off the edge of the cell's bed with a shriek. She sat up and grimaced as Regina dropped the papers she had in her arms onto David's desk and hurried over to the blonde. The mayor reached out a hand to Emma to help her up. The blonde woman just looked up at her in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned softly.

"I was bringing some paperwork by for you to sign off on. I didn't think you would be here though. Didn't Miss Lucas take you back to your parents house where you are supposed to be resting?" Regina asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm pissed at David and Mary Margaret. And David is too busy trying to coddle my mother as if she's the victim which meant nobody was working at the station. So I came here." Emma said with a sheepish grin which caused Regina to roll her eyes.

"You are supposed to be in bed resting, Miss Swan. The station will survive without you while you're recovering from being shot with an arrow and breaking some of your ribs. You need to go home." She told the Savior in exasperation.

"I don't want to go back to the apartment." Emma stated. The two women held each other's gazes for a moment before Regina walked into the Sheriff's office and then returned with Emma's red leather jacket and gun. She handed the items to Emma.

"Fine. Then you'll stay with me until you've recovered. I'm pretty sure that was the plan to begin with and despite the fact that your mother murdered mine I'm not going to hurt you. I want to hurt her... But again, I won't. For Henry." Emma gave a soft smile at the Mayor's words and Regina returned it before turning to leave. Emma put her gun in it's holster on her belt and then followed closely behind but paused as they reached the door.

"Regina?" The brunette paused and looked over her shoulder at Emma. "I'm sorry about your mom." She whispered. Regina gave a sad smile and opened the door for the blonde.

"Thank you."

* * *

Emma and Regina's first order of business was to pick up something to eat. Regina had made breakfast for herself that morning but she had skipped lunch and if she was correct then Emma hadn't eaten all day. She drove over to Granny's and two women walked in together. As soon as Regina walked in, everybody turned to stare at her.

"Here to try and kill us all?" Leroy spat, receiving a glare from both women in return.

"Emma... What are you doing with Regina?" Ruby asked from her place behind the counter.

"Getting food. I thought that was obvious." Emma stated as she walked up to the counter with Regina at her side.

"Do you have a problem with that, Miss Lucas?" Regina questioned. Ruby glared at the older brunette.

"Actually yes, I do. You need to leave Emma alone."

"I'll do whatever I please with Emma because-"

"Stop it!" Emma snapped, cutting them both off. "I'm not some damn toy that you guys can fight over. I make my own decisions. Regina may have made some mistakes recently but that doesn't mean she's the only one at fault. What Mary Margaret did was just as, if not more, horrible, than anything Regina has done this past week or two. I'm done fighting over this. I'm in constant pain because I don't know how to handle any of these injuries and I ran out of pain medication and I'm hungry and I just want to take a nap. I'd also like to be able to be around both of you without having to worry about a fight breaking out because you guys are basically my best friends and I need you." Emma said in exasperation as she rested her head in her hands. Regina's and Ruby's expressions both softened. Ruby glanced up and gave the mayor a small smile.

"I'm sorry. For everything." She said softly.

"I'm sorry too." Regina told her sincerely before turning her attention to the blonde. "Why didn't you tell me that you've been in pain? And why didn't you ask someone to pick up more pain medication for you?"

"I didn't want to bother you. I mean, you've got so much going on lately. And I was going to ask someone to pick something up for me but everyone seemed preoccupied with other things that were more important."

"Emma..." Ruby said with a small shake of her head. "Nothing that Mary Margaret, David, or I have been doing is more important than you. You could've asked and one of us would've gotten you something to help. I'm so sorry I didn't notice that you were in pain." Emma gave a tiny smile.

"It's okay. You know how you can make it up to me?" Ruby waited in confusion for an answer as Regina raised an eyebrow. "You could get us some food and come cuddle with me and Regina."

"First of all Miss Swan, it's Regina and I, not me and Regina. Secondly, what makes you think I will be cuddling with you?" The mayor asked with a smirk.

"Because you like cuddling with me." The sheriff replied simply. Regina would've had a snarky comeback but she and Ruby could both tell that Emma's pain and exhaustion were starting to weigh her down so she let it slide. Ruby chuckled a little as she went to get their usuals from the kitchen.

* * *

Despite Ruby's almost frantic attempts to keep the blonde from falling asleep, Emma had done just that on the way to Regina's house. Regina carried the food in and left Ruby with the job of waking Emma up and dragging her inside.

"Emma," Ruby said softly as she gently shook the woman. "Wake up. We're here." Nothing happened. The brunette tried again and again before deciding she would need something more drastic to awaken the blonde.

"What is with you and your family sleeping for an eternity?" Ruby said jokingly to the sleeping sheriff. She paused for a moment and then a grin broke out across her face. "I know how to wake you up, Emma." Ruby whispered as she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to the blonde's lips. Emma's eyes opened and Ruby pulled away with a smirk playing at her lips.

"You kissed me." Emma said in shock.

"It seemed like the right way to wake up the daughter of Snow White." Ruby said with a chuckle before her face fell. "Should I not have done that?"

"No it was... It was good." Emma said with a reassuring smile. The two women shared a moment of comfortable silence before Ruby offered her hand to Emma.

"Come on, we should probably head in. Regina is waiting on us with the food." Emma took the offered hand and allowed the other wolf to help her out of the car. They were walking up to the front porch when the door opened and Regina came running out with the takeout bags in her hands. She tossed them to Ruby who barely caught them and hurried past the two women and to her car's driver's side door.

"Dinner is going to be on the go tonight. David and Mary Margaret just called." She said in a panicked voice that caused Ruby and Emma to both hop back into the car with the mayor who was fumbling with her keys.

"Regina, take a deep breath and tell us what's going on." Emma said. Regina kept fumbling with the keys without responding though. Ruby and Emma shared a worried look.

"Regina! Look at me!" Emma shouted. Regina's attention snapped to the blonde and she suddenly felt like she could breathe again as she stared at the blonde.

"We have to get to the dock." She mumbled, her eyes never leaving Emma's. Ruby watched the two women intensely from the backseat.

"Okay, why do we need to get to the dock?" Emma asked slowly, trying her best to be patient.

"Your parents called... They have Henry." Emma and Ruby both furrowed their brows in confusion.

"Who has Henry? Where is he?"

"Greg and Tamara. They took him. They jumped through a portal and then... They took him to Neverland. We have to go." Emma's face fell and she seemed like would become almost comatose as a beat of silence passed between the three of them. Then, her voice rang out through the air with clear determination.

"Floor it."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So there was a kiss in there between Ruby and Emma. I know I said it would probably be a slow burn but I feel like Ruby would be much more forward with her feelings towards both Emma and Regina. However, Regina and Emma may need a bit of a push.**

 **Which means that the endgame of this fic will in fact be Red Swan Queen. I'm sorry to anyone who wanted something different. I hope it doesn't make you give up on this fic. I just felt that it was the best fit for this particular fanfic.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**

 **I have a new fic up called Neutral Colors. It's a Swan Queen teacher AU if you want to check it out. Other than that, just keep it up with the favorites, follows, and reviews. They are greatly appreciated.**

 **Also, I went back and edited chapter five so before you read this next update please go back and read that chapter again.**

 **I own nothing. Just like every other time before this one.**

* * *

Emma didn't think her legs could carry her any faster as she ran towards the portal. She could feel Ruby and Regina right behind her as Greg and Tamara jumped into the portal, dragging Henry along with them. Ruby pulled Emma back and held her tightly as she tried to jump into the closing portal.

"No! We have to follow them. There has to be a way!" She shouted.

"Not only do we not know where they went but Hook stole the last bean." Regina said. Emma continued to struggle against Ruby has Mary Margaret and David ran up to the three women.

"I don't care!"

"Without it there's no way to follow them." Regina explained.

"There has to be. We can't let them just take Henry!"

"They've taken Henry?" The group turned to see Rumplestilskin and Belle walking up to them. Emma stopped struggling against Ruby as much as she caught sight of Belle. She was still being eaten alive by guilt over what she had done.

"Yeah, you're the dark one. Do something." David said.

"Gold, help us." Emma said.

"There's no way. I spent a whole lifetime trying to cross worlds to find my son. There's no way in this world without a portal."

"So that's it?" Regina asked. "He's gone forever? I refuse to believe that." Emma was about to say something but Ruby's voice stopped her.

"What is that?" The group turned to see a large ship sailing towards Storybrooke across the waves.

"Hook." Emma whispered.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma asked as they walked around to where Hook was stepping off of the Jolly Roger.

"Helping."

"Well you're too late." Ruby told him.

"Am I?" He asked.

"I thought you didn't care about anybody but yourself." Emma asked.

"Maybe I just needed a reminder that I could." Hook said as he handed a leather pouch to the blonde. Regina and Ruby both narrowed their eyes at the pirate. It was painfully obvious that he had some sort of infatuation with Emma and neither woman was pleased about it. Emma opened it to reveal the magic bean he had stolen.

"Enough waiting around, let's go." Regina said.

"Go? Where? I thought we were saving the town?" Hook asked in confusion. Emma looked to Ruby and the brunette leaned forward and whispered in her ear, catching her up on Greg and Tamara's original plan to destroy Storybrooke. In the midst of her injuries, Emma had managed to be left out of the majority of the drama for once.

"We already did." David said.

"We need to get Henry. Greg and Tamara took him through a portal." Emma said.

"Well, I offer my ship and my services to help follow them." Hook responded.

"Well, that's great, Hook. But how will we track them?" Regina asked.

"Leave that to me. I can get us where we need to go." Mr. Gold said.

"Then let's do it!" Mary Margaret said. The group started to head onto the Jolly Roger while Mr. Gold stayed back to talk to Belle.

"Belle, I have to go." He told her. "You have to stay here."

"No! Why? I want to help."

"The town is no longer safe."

"What?" Belle and Ruby said. The werewolf was about to step onto the ship when she heard the Dark One's words.

"Well, Greg and Tamara weren't working alone. Others will follow." Rumplestilskin told them.

"No, we can't leave people in danger." Ruby said worriedly.

"After we've gone," Mr. Gold said as he pulled a small scroll of paper out of his pocket and held it out to Belle. "Follow these instructions. It's a cloaking spell. It will shield the town, making it impossible for anyone to find."

"Well... Then how will you find your way back to me?" Belle asked sadly. Ruby stepped away to give them privacy.

A few moments later, Mr. Gold walked onto the deck of the ship and looked at Hook.

"So... Are you done trying to kill me?" He asked.

"I believe so." Hook replied.

"Excellent. Then you can live." Rumplestilskin said and with a wave of his hand, a crystal ball appeared in front of them. He pricked his finger and let the blood drip into the ball. It swirled around before an image of a location most of them didn't recognize appeared.

"Where is that?" Regina asked. "Where did they take Henry?"

"Neverland." Hook replied grimly. Everyone looked around at each other with expressions of worry.

Emma held out the bean to Hook and he gently took it with his good hand. He threw it overboard and into the water. A large blue portal began to open and they all rushed to help manipulate the ship so it would move towards the portal.

"So who are we up against? Who are Greg and Tamara?" David shouted over the noise of the portal.

"They're merely pawns." Rumple said. "Manipulated by forces far greater than they can conceive. They have no idea who they're truly working for."

"And who's that?" Emma asked.

"Someone we all should fear" Rumple said as the ship was guided into the portal and it sucked them into a new world.

The Jolly Roger was launched out of the portal and it landed roughly atop the ocean. The sky was dark and it was obviously night where they were.

"Is that it?" Emma asked, looking at the island far ahead of them.

"Aye... Neverland." Hook responded.

They floated along the water quietly as they headed towards their destination. Hook spun the wheel of the ship and Regina turned to look at him.

"Why are you slowing down? In case you didn't know, my son's life is in danger." She said angrily.

"Oh I know, my hotheaded queen. My plan is to bring us to the far side of the island, link up with the widest part of the river, then we sail right through and take him by surprise." Hook said. "The irony."

"What irony?"

"I spent more time than I care to remember trying to leave this place to kill Rumplestilskin. And here I am, sailing right back into it's heart with him as my guest of honor." He spat. "It's not quite the happy ending I was hoping for." Silence engulfed them before Regina decided to break it.

"Do you think villains can have happy endings?" She asked as she watched Emma talking to her parents at the edge of the ship.

"I hope so. Or we've wasted our lives." He said simply.

"How can you two be so infuriatingly optimistic?" Emma shouted, gaining the attention of everyone else on the ship.

"It's who we are." David replied.

"Why?! Ever since you got your memories back, ever since you remembered that you're Snow fucking White and Prince fucking Charming, your lives have... They've... Well, they've sucked!"

"No." David said. "No, we found you."

"And lost Henry! And countless other people!"

"Emma," Mary Margaret said, speaking up. "The minute I let go of the belief that things will get better is the minute that I know they won't. We'll find Henry."

"No you won't." Rumple said from where he was standing in a new outfit. Hook rolled his eyes.

"Oh, that's a great use of our time. A wardrobe change."

"I'm going to get Henry." Rumple said as he ignored the pirate's comment.

"We agreed to do this together." Regina said.

"Actually, we made no such agreement." He said.

"Why are you doing this?" Ruby asked, now at Emma's side.

"Because I want to succeed." He told them.

"What makes you think I'm gonna fail?" Emma asked.

"Well, how could you not? Rumple pointed out. "You don't believe in your parents. Or in magic. Or even yourself."

"I slayed a dragon. I think I believe."

"Only what was shown to you. When have you ever taken a real, leap of faith? You know, the kind where there's absolutely no proof? I've known you some time Ms. Swan, and sadly, despite everything you've been through, you're still just that... Bail bondsperson, looking for evidence. Well, dearie, that's not gonna work in Neverland."

"I'll do whatever it takes." Emma said.

"Well, you just need someone to tell you what that is. Sorry dearie. Our foe is too fearsome for hand-holding. Neverland is a place where imagination runs wild. And sadly, yours doesn't." Rumple said. He spun is cane and when it hit the deck of the ship, he was gone.

* * *

Emma pulled herself up on the wooden bar, counting silently in her head, until she heard footsteps behind her. She held herself still on the bar and waited for the intruder to speak.

"Well don't stop on my account, Ms. Swan." Regina said with a playful smirk.

"Wouldn't think of it." Emma grumbled as she lifted herself up again.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for a fight." Regina rolled her eyes.

"Get down from there, Emma. You're still healing." Emma didn't budge. "Don't let Rumplestilskin get in your head." Emma dropped down from the bar and turned to look at Regina.

"What do you want?" She asked as she sat down. Regina took a seat across from her.

"To come check on you. It was either Ruby or I and I figured it was my turn."

"What are we going to do?" Emma asked quietly. A moment of silence passed between them.

"We're going to find our son." Regina whispered. The ship rocked suddenly.

"What was that?" Emma said. The two women rushed out of the cabin and back up onto the deck where David and Mary Margaret both had a hold of the wheel.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Regina shouted.

"Trying to keep it steady!" Mary Margaret yelled back.

"Hold on!" David said as Hook rushed up the steps to the helm of the ship.

"Prepare for attack!" He said as he took the wheel.

"Be more specific." Ruby said.

"If you've got a weapon, then grab it." Hook commanded. Screeching sounds could be heard from below them and Emma looked over the side of the ship.

"What's out there, a shark? A whale?"

"A kraken?" David added.

"Worse." Hook said. David looked over the edge of the ship with a lantern in his hand and his face fell as Hook finally answered the question. "Mermaids."

"Mermaids?!" Emma shouted.

"Yes," Hook said. "And they're quite unpleasant."

"You think?" Regina said sarcastically as her eyes met Ruby's.

"I'll try to outrun them." The pirate said.

"How many of them are there?" Emma asked but her question went ignored. The mermaids hit their tails violently against the side of the ship as they continued screeching.

"I will not be capsized by fish!" David shouted, moving to prepare the canon. Mary Margaret chased after him.

"Emma!" She called out, making sure her daughter was following her.

"What are you doing?!" Emma said.

"Fishing." Her mother answered. They moved to pick up a net as David fired the canon at the mermaids. They threw the net overboard while Ruby and Regina watched the countless mermaids swimming around them and David continued to fire the canon.

"We caught one!" Mary Margaret shouted suddenly.

"One?" Ruby said. "There are dozens of them."

"Enough of this." Regina said to herself as a ball of fire appeared in her palm. She threw it into the water, chasing the mermaids away. "There. They're gone."

"Not all of them. What about that one?" Emma asked. Regina looked over and waved her hand simply, moving the stray mermaid onto the deck of the ship.

"Get that thing off my ship!" Hook shouted.

"No." Regina said. "Now we have a hostage."

"I hate to say it but I'm with Hook. Those things just tried to kill us." David said.

"And perhaps we should find out why." Regina argued.

"How? By torturing her?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Well, if need be, sure." Regina stated. The mermaid held a seashell that she had and blew into it. The shell blared loudly, forcing everyone, especially Ruby and Emma, to cover their ears.

"What the hell was that?" Ruby asked as thunder clapped loudly above them.

"A warning." The mermaid told them. "Let me go... Or die."

"What is this?" David said, holding the shell up in the mermaid's face. "What did you do?"

"Let me go." She repeated.

"Not until you tell us. Or we make you tell us." Regina said.

"Threatening her isn't the way to motivate her!" Mary Margaret said.

"Well, we're all out of fish food." Ruby said dryly.

"It doesn't matter if you get her to talk." Hook said pointedly. "You can't trust her. Mermaids are liars."

"Of course they are." Emma said with a roll of her eyes.

"Maybe they're just scared of Pan." Mary Margaret said. "If we let her go, maybe they'll be on our side."

"Or maybe she and her friends will come right back to kill us." Regina argued back.

"Oh, I don't need my friends to kill you." The mermaid spoke up. "You'll kill yourselves. Now let me go!" Thunder clapped loudly as lightning lit up the sky.

"What the hell?" David said.

"It's the storm." Hook pointed at the mermaid accusingly. "She called it. Don't let her go. She'll swim off and leave us all to die. At least with her, we've got leverage." David pulled a sword out and held it to the mermaid's neck.

"Stop the storm. Then we let you go." Regina laughed.

"That's more like it, Charming. Filet the bitch." David looked up at the rest of the group and then pulled away.

"No. We're not barbarians."

"What we're going to be is dead!" Ruby shouted. The ship began to turn.

"Hold on!" Hook announced. "I'm going to turn her around! I've outrun many a storm."

Regina leaned into the mermaid. "Make it stop or die."

"We are not killers!" Mary Margaret yelled at the former Evil Queen.

"Yes you are!" The mermaid declared. "And you've brought this death upon yourselves."

"This is why we should free her!" Mary Margaret said.

"That feel-good nonsense, Snow, might play in the Enchanted Forest but this... This is Neverland." Regina growled out.

"Keep your grip, pirate!" David shouted angrily at Hook.

"It wasn't me, mate! It was the ship. We're taking on water."

"Now may I resume killing her?" Regina asked.

"NO!" David and Mary Margaret shouted simultaneously.

"You kill her, and her kind have a personal vendetta against us." Mary Margaret continued.

"Look, the queen is right." Hook said. "They've already tried killing us."

"Stop, that's enough!" Emma shouted. "We need to think this through."

"I already have." Regina said as she waved her hand and the mermaid was encased in bronze. "There. That should stop the storm."

"Regina! What did you do?" Emma yelled.

"No." Regina whispered as she caught sight of the giant wave hurdling towards the Jolly Roger.

"What have you done?" Ruby screeched. Water sprayed the ship and everyone on it as they struggled to keep their grip on the nearest object.

"This isn't a storm. It's bloody damnation." Hook said. The wind howled around them and Emma watched as Regina and Mary Margaret yelled back and forth at each other but she couldn't hear them over the storm. She watching in shock as her mother punched the brunette squarely in the face. More words were shared before Regina punched Mary Margaret and David ran towards them. Hook reached out to stop him though and before anything could be said the two men were in a fist fight while Ruby was attempting to separate Regina and Mary Margaret.

"Stop it!" Emma shouted. A look of realization passed over her face as she looked up at the storm. "It's not the mermaid. It's us... If you don't stop fighting we're all gonna die! Domt you see we're causing the storm." Nobody was listening to the Savior though. Emma let go of the wheel and ran to the edge of the ship. She grabbed hold of part of the rope holding the sail up and yanked herself up onto the ledge of the ship.

"Hey! Stop! You need to listen to me!" She yelled. Everyone continued to ignore her though and she looked behind her for a moment. She thought through her options and hoped that her family wouldn't let her down again before turning.

"Emma!" David and Mary Margaret shouted.

"Emma! No!" Ruby yelled as she slid on the deck and fell in her rush to reach the blonde. Emma ignored the yells of everyone and she jumped overboard, landing in the cold ocean water below them. Part of the ship snapped and flew into the water right where Emma had gone under and Regina felt her heart stop.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret screeched.

"Idiot." Regina said. The last thing Emma needed on top of her list of injuries was frostbite, drowning, or death.

"Regina, get her up here!" Mary Margaret cried out.

"I-I-I can't. Not in this storm. I-I can't even see her." She said. David reached up to do as Emma had done.

"Wait!" Hook yelled.

"She'll drown." David protested.

"And so will you. Let me help." Hook began rummaging around the deck for supplies but everything was all over the place.

"Regina," Ruby said, getting the attention of the two women next to her. "You have to get me back up here."

"What? What are you doing?" Regina shouted as Ruby took a few steps back.

"Wait! Ruby no!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. It was too late though as the werewolf jumped into the water below. Hook and David rushed to the edge to see what had happened and everyone watched in silence and hope. Moments passed and then Ruby broke the surface, holding Emma tightly against her.

"Toss the rope over!" Regina demanded. Hook wasted no time before he flung the rope over the edge and down to Ruby. The brunette wiggled around for a moment until it was securely tied around her waist and she gave a thumbs up. David and Hook used the pulley to pull the rope with all of the strength they had until Ruby and Emma were brought over the edge of the boat. Ruby held tightly to Ruby and Regina and Mary Margaret knelt down beside them.

"Emma?" Ruby whispered softly. The blonde didn't respond though and Regina thought her world was going to fall apart in front of her. _First my son, now my... Emma._ She thought to herself.

"No." Mary Margaret whispered. Suddenly Emma began to sputter and cough, spitting out the water that had filled her lungs with a gasp. Regina sighed with relief and Ruby and David chuckled softly. Emma took in everyone gathered around her and then the lack of thunder and rain. She gave a small smile.

"Told you so." She whispered. Regina couldn't help but smile and Ruby looked around them for a moment before meeting Hook's eyes.

"Go ahead. Take her below deck and get her warmed up. I'll make sure we get to shore." He said with a nod of understanding. Ruby helped Emma to stand and helped her get down to one of the cabins. David and Hook walked back to the helm of the ship. Mary Margaret followed behind them but stopped for a moment to whisper in Regina's ear.

"Just go down there with Ruby and Emma, Regina. You know that's where you need to be right now."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Remember, whoever can guess who turned Emma into a werewolf first will get a one shot written for them or they'll get to help make a big decision about said character.**

 **Also, if you have any ideas or there's something you really want to see then please feel free to message me about it or to leave a review. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

 **JMore: I want to get some things very straight between us. First of all, my fics are not a place for you to come and hate on anyone in the fandom. If you or anyone else has an issue with me or one of my fics that you need to get off your chest then in the future please privately message me about it. Secondly, I adore Lana. I'm honestly a bigger fan of Lana than of JMo. I ship Swan Queen because of the chemistry and how well they fit together. And it is easily my OTP. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to ship other things too. It's got nothing to do with sex. When I set out to write this fic, my original plan was Swan Queen. However, from the very start I knew that I could make Red Swan Queen work. I asked the readers, because I wouldn't be writing this if it weren't for them, and I listened to what they had to say. I have complete control over this fic though. If I felt that this story was better geared towards Swan Queen then I would have wrote it that way. I made my own choice. If you took the time to read this fic, then thank you. I appreciate it. If not, then I encourage you to give it a shot but I understand if you don't want to. I have another Swan Queen fic on here that's a teacher AU if you'd like. Other than that, I'm sorry you feel so negatively about those topics but please contact me privately next time.**

 **Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed. I appreciate it so much. Also, someone recommended my fic to swanqueen-fanfic on tumblr and it meant a lot to me so please message me on here or on tumblr (freebeebo) because I would love to write a one shot for you as a thank you.**

 **Sorry for the long author's note. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review.**

 **As per usual, I own nothing.**

* * *

Regina took Mary Margaret's advice and turned to follow the two other women down below deck. By the time she reached the small cabin Ruby already had Emma wrapped in a towel and was helping her get warmed up. The blonde looked up at Regina and it seemed like she was prepared to get yelled at. For a moment Regina was going to, but she couldn't yell at the woman when she looked like a drowned puppy. She sighed.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Emma's eyes widened for a split second.

"No, I'm. I'll be alright. Just... Really cold right now." She said. Regina stood awkwardly for a moment before Ruby cleared her throat.

"I'm going to go make sure everyone above deck is okay, and see if they need any help while I'm up there." She said as she stood and walked back up the stairs to the deck, closing the door to the cabin shut quietly behind her. Silence engulfed the other two women for several moments before either spoke.

"No more jumping into oceans. You could have died." Regina said.

"I was just trying to get a point across." Emma said.

"And I repeat, you could have died." Regina replied with a scoff.

"Yeah, but I'm fine. It's not a big deal." Emma said, her voice raising a little. "It's not like you care anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean, Miss Swan?"

"It means that you only ever worry about me because you don't want Henry to be upset if something happens to me. You couldn't care less otherwise."

"That is not true." Regina said lowly.

"Oh really?" Emma asked skeptically. Regina held her gaze fiercely.

"Dammit Emma. You are family. Everyone on this ship is family. Except maybe Hook. You, Snow, Charming, Ruby... You are all family to me. I'm still learning how family works sometimes and I'm not always great about it but don't you dare think for a moment that I don't care about all of you. It's not just because of Henry. I need everyone too. I need you, Emma. You can't go jumping in oceans like that again." The air grew heavy between them as the blonde and brunette kept their gazes on each other. The gap seemed to be closing between them when they heard footsteps echoing down the stairs. They jumped apart as the door flung open to reveal Ruby smiling hopefully at them.

"We're about to hit land so get up here."

* * *

"The ridge is just a few hundred paces up ahead." Hook said as he cut through the leaves and branches swiftly with his sword.

"And you think we'll be able to see where Pan is hiding out?" Ruby asked.

"From there we'll be able to see everything. Including Henry." He said.

"You know," Regina told them. "I could've just proofed us up here in an instant." Hook turned and looked at the brunette skeptically.

"Where? Have you any idea what's up here... Or anywhere? There are dangers all about. Only I can guide us past them." Mary Margaret stepped up closer to Emma and Ruby and handed the blonde a canteen filled with water.

"Here, you need to stay hydrated." Emma took a quick drink and handed the canteen to Ruby.

"Thanks, Mary Margaret." Emma said. Mary Margaret hesitated a moment before speaking.

"You know, 'Mary Margaret' is a bit formal." She said. Ruby and Regina both looked at her like she had lost her mind, already having a good idea what she was about to say. "You could call me 'Mom'... If you want. You've done it before."

"That was... Back when I-"

"Was about to die." Mary Margaret finished for her. She shook it off quickly and Regina raised an eyebrow as a thought came to mind. "Oh, no, I get it." The two women continued walking and so Regina brushed off her thought and decided to bring it up later. They reached the ridge that Hook had talked about a few minutes later.

"We made it." David announced.

"We can see that." Ruby muttered and Regina had to stifle her laughter. The jungle beneath the ridge was dark and covered completely. It was impossible to see the ground below the tree tops.

"Pan's lair should be just... right..."

"Where?" Regina demanded, cutting Hook off. "All I see is jungle."

"Aye, the dark jungle." He said while popping open his flask. Both Ruby and Emma's attention turned to him at the smell of the imported rum and both women wondered where he got the money for something that smelt so good. He took a quick sip and then pulled out a telescope to look around the thick jungle. "It's, uh, grown so much since I last stepped foot in Neverland." Regina sighed in exasperation.

"So this nature hike was for nothing?"

"Hook may have led us astray, but at least we're in a good position to start combing the jungle." David said.

"Not exactly. The dark jungle is the last place you wanna set foot. We'll have to go around it. In order to that, we're going to need our strength. I suggest we make camp." Hook advised.

"You wanna sleep while my son is out there suffering?" Regina questioned. Hook looked at her with a bit of sympathy and then to Emma, knowing she was thinking the same thing.

"If we want to live long enough to save the boy... Yes." The group walked away, leaving Emma standing at the edge of the cliff with Ruby.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Regina is right. Henry's out there somewhere. I can almost catch his scent." Emma whispered.

"Hook is right too though. We have to survive in order to get to Henry and help him."

"I know." Emma said. "I just hope we're not too late." Ruby sighed.

"After everything we've all been through, there's one thing we've learned. It is never too late."

* * *

The camp was just enough for everyone to rest for awhile before they headed out again. Everyone was sleeping comfortably when the sounds of children crying began echoing in the distance. Emma's eyes snapped open and she sat up with a sharp intake of breath. She pushed the blanket off of herself and stood up. She pulled out a machete and looked around at everyone who was still asleep.

"Guys, wake up!" Nobody budged. Emma decided to just go ahead and check out the noises herself.

"You hear that too?" A voice asked from behind her. Emma whirled around with a gasp to find a young boy with short hair leaning against a tree. "You're Emma, right? I wonder why they can't hear the crying?"

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Oh, did I forget to introduce myself? I'm Peter. Peter Pan." Emma quickly turned the machete and pushed him roughly against the tree, holding the blade to his neck. She bared her teeth out of instinct and stared him down.

"Where's Henry?" She growled out.

"You've got fire. And fangs." Pan said with a small chuckle. "I like both of them."

"Where is my son?" Emma growled again.

"Henry is still alive if that's what you're worried about." He said.

"Why the hell did you take him?"

"He's a very special boy, Emma."

"I know. That doesn't answer my question." She said in a low tone. "What do you want with him?"

"I came here to see who I was up against. 'The Savior.'", He said sarcastically, his eyes widening comically, before sighing and chuckling lowly. "Gotta say, I'm not disappointed."

"What do you say now? You're gonna tell me how I'm never gonna see Henry again?"

"No, I'm going to help you find him." Emma said nothing, just held him still against the tree. "I'll give you a map." She stepped back and allowed him to reach into his shirt and pull out a piece of parchment that he then waved in the air a little. "A map that will lead you straight to your son."

"If this is some kind of trap..." Pan chuckled again.

"I may not be the most well behaved boy on the island, but I always keep my promises. The path to finding Henry is on this parchment."

"Why are you giving it to me?" Emma asked, suddenly very hesitant to take the map.

"See it's not about finding Henry." Pan said. "It's about how you find him. And, Emma... You are the only one who can." He said as he handed it over. She unfolded it to reveal a map that had nothing helpful drawn on it.

"It's blank."

"You'll only be able to read that map when you stop denying who you really are." He said. Emma looked down at the map again and then back up but when she did Peter Pan was gone.

* * *

"He so likes his games." Hook said from his place on the log across from Emma.

"What game?" Regina asked. "There's nothing there."

"If he said there's a map on this parchment then there is." Hook replied.

"Great. So if I just stop denying who I really am, whatever that means, then we'll be able to read this thing." Emma said. Ruby raised her eyebrows at the blonde, having a fairly good idea of what she needed to stop denying. Emma simply shook her head at the other werewolf and hoped she would drop it. Hook however, watched the two women with curiosity over the short interaction.

"Something you'd like to share, loves?" He asked. Regina looked between the two women and then to the pirate.

"Not at all." Emma stated easily. Silence passed over them for a moment before Charming and Snow emerged from the trees.

"There's no sign of him anywhere." David said, a hint of frustration in his tone.

"Any luck with the map?" Snow asked.

"Don't hold your breath." Regina scoffed. Emma didn't look up from the map but her body tensed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that we are wasting time that could be spent trying to find my son." Regina said.

"Our. Son." Emma growled as she stood up. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Magic." She replied. Charming sighed. "If there's a lock on there then I'll find a way around it." Regina went to reach for the map but Emma jerked it back with quick reflexes and glared at the brunette.

"Pan said it had to be me."

"We should follow Pan's rules so we don't make things worse." Ruby said evenly.

"And your magic doesn't exactly have a gentle touch, Regina." Snow added.

"I personally would prefer to not be blown to pieces by Pan's magical map." Hook mumbled.

"Well that's a risk I'm willing to take." The mayor said.

"Well, I'm not. If I'm the one who is supposed to figure out this thing I need to do what Pan said." Emma said before adding, "Plus I've almost died more than once in less than a month and I prefer to keep that total low."

"She'll get there." Snow said supportively. Regina ignored the woman though and stormed off from the group. Snow looked at Emma sympathetically before heading over to where Charming was sitting. Ruby looked at the blonde for a moment and then looked in the direction Regina had gone.

"He's playing a game, Emma. A game that you can win." Emma pondered her words for a moment before dropping back down onto the log and lifting up the map.

"My name is Emma Swan."

"I think it'll be harder than that." Hook said. Both women rolled their eyes at him.

"Don't hold anything back." Ruby whispered.

"I'm Henry's mother. I used to live in Boston, and I was a bail bondsperson. I'm now the sheriff of Storybrooke."

"That election was a sham." Regina said, rejoining the group.

"Don't you think you're maybe..." Snow glanced between the three women hesitantly. "You're leaving some things out."

"I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming... Which apparently makes me the product of true love. I was born in the Enchanted Forest and I was sent through a portal in a tree so that I could break a curse."

"And you were able to break the curse because...?" Charming said. "You're the...?" Emma frowned up at him.

"Come on." Snow urged. "You don't need to be embarrassed to say it."

"Say what?" Hook asked. Regina rolled her eyes.

"The S word."

Emma paused to gather herself before she let the words leave her mouth. "I'm the Savior." Everyone watched expectantly for the map to appear but the paper remained blank. "I don't get it. I said I'm the Savior. There's nothing I've denied more than that."

"It's okay, we'll figure it out." Her mother said.

"No, you won't." Regina said while snatching the parchment from Emma. "But I can. I'm beginning to think there isn't a map on here, but that doesn't mean it can't lead us to Henry."

"Regina, this is a bad idea." Ruby pointed out.

"I agree with the werewolf." Hook said. Ruby looked at him in confusion for a moment before he sighed. "I've met enough werewolves to know when I see one." His eyes darted quickly towards Emma and Ruby understood that he knew."

"What the fuck are you doing?" Emma asked Regina.

"Using a locator spell. This parchment belonged to Pan. It'll lead us right to him." She replied. The blank map floated out of her hand and everyone turned to watch it fly into the jungle behind them.

"So it appears we will be venturing into the dark jungle." Hook observed.

"You mean the place you told us to never set foot?" Ruby asked.

"That's the one." He said.

"Well Emma," Regina said, stepping up to the blonde's side. "You said you wanted to be the leader... Lead."

* * *

After traveling through the jungle for awhile Snow decided to break the silence among the group and speak her mind. "Maybe your spell was wrong, Regina."

"Yes. Blame me... Again." She grumbled. The group walked into what appeared to be a deserted camp.

"Guys..." Emma said. "Hold on." She rushed down the small slope and ran towards the figure in Henry's clothes. "Is that... Henry!" The figure turned around and grinned wickedly at the group.

"Hi Emma." Pan said.

"Where the hell is Henry?"

"You broke the rules. That's not fair. Bad form. I expect more from YOU, Captain."

"Aye." Killian said. "And you'll get it,"

"Give Henry to me." Emma said.

"Sorry, can't." Said Pan. "Don't you know? Cheaters never win." Suddenly the sound of people running through the jungle while howling and shouting echoed all around them. Several boys carrying torches and bows and arrows emerged from the trees and trapped the group in the middle of them all.

"Watch out for their arrows." Hook warned. "They're laced with dream shade; it's a deadly poison." Arrows began to fly at them. Killian, Snow, and Charming worked to deflect the arrows and fight back while Emma, Ruby, and Regina quickly took cover. A small group of the boys ran towards Ruby and Regina used her magic to send a ball of purple electricity right at them. Two other boys ran to attack Emma. She reached up and caught one of their swords by the hilt as they brought it down on her and she tossed them to the side with ease. She turned on the other boy. Her eyes flashed gold and he stumbled to get away from her. It was useless though as she lunged forward and tackled him to the ground. They rolled down the small hill roughly, and Emma could vaguely hear Regina and Ruby shouting at her.

"Where is Henry?" She barked. Her canines were coming out and she bared them aggressively get her point across. "Where is he?" He didn't answer her question. Instead he just looked at her in fear. She sat back as she tried to compose herself.

"Emma, are you alright?" Snow asked. She looked up to see Snow watching her in concern while Ruby and Regina stood a couple paces behind her, doing the same. Pan whistled suddenly and all of the boys got up and rushed to get to where he was standing.

"Remember what I told you." He said. "That map will show you where Henry is... When you stop denying who you really are. I'll make sure to send Henry your regards. The boys ran off into the jungle with Pan, leaving the group standing in the jungle clearing. Ruby helped Emma up off the ground. After a beat of silence everyone spread out and began making camp again for the night.

They had been settled for about half an hour when Charming and Snow walked over to where Emma was looking at the map again. Ruby and Regina sat beside each other and watched from across camp as the couple said something that made Emma walk away from them. Snow followed and sat down beside her.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Regina asked. Ruby hesitated for a moment.

"Emma is upset that the map won't show up and thinks we lost our chance. Snow is giving her a pep talk." Regina snorted in amusement.

"I'm convinced she has a notebook of pep talks she's written for every possible situation." Ruby laughed a little before continuing.

"Snow asked Emma why she stopped fighting that kid she tackled. She said it was more than just the fact that he was a boy. That she saw it in her eyes." The two of them watched the women continue speaking but Ruby wouldn't repeat what Emma was saying. She wouldn't repeat what Emma was saying about Snow just seeing a monster in her eyes because she lost control. The conversation took a turn though with more pushing from Snow.

"Emma is talking about how she didn't matter when she was younger. Like how she was an orphan and felt lost and unimportant." Regina sucked in a breath sharply. She was about today something but suddenly Emma had picked up the map and was studying it as the picture appeared. Ruby and Regina rushed over to look at the map with them.

"We know where Henry is." Emma told them.

"Where?" Regina asked. Hook reached out a hand and waited for Emma to give him permission to look at it. She handed him the map and everyone crowded around him to look.

"We're here." He said, pointing to the bottom of the map. "At the southern tip of the isle, in the middle of the dark jungle. Pan's camp lies due north."

"So that's where Henry is?" Ruby asked.

"Aye."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Regina asked.

"Well, the terrain's not easy. There will undoubtedly be some nasty impediments along the way."

"We should prepare." Charming said. "We only made it out of our last encounter because Pan let us. We need a new plan."

"Agreed. It's time we stop playing his game and her starts playing ours." Emma said.

"And if I disagree?" Regina asked. Emma quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Go ahead, but I think you know our best chance is together."

"You better be right." She said before walking away. Charming and Snow headed in the opposite direction.

"Excellent show of patience, love." Hook said. "And _that_ is what defeats a nasty little boy."

"I hope so." Emma said. Hook popped the cork of his flask and held it out to her.

"Is rum your solution to everything?" She asked.

"It certainly doesn't hurt." He took a swig before offering the flask to Ruby, who took it with a smirk.

"I agree with Killian." Ruby said. She took a drink and then held it back out to Emma. The blonde rolled her eyes but smiled and took a swig anyway.

"So just how did you unlock the map?" He asked.

"I did what Pan asked." Emma said.

"And just who are you, Swan?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ruby coughed and Killian grinned at Emma's response.

"Not what I meant, Swan. I was actually wondering if you had to admit that you were a werewolf or if it was something else." Emma blushed a little in embarrassment.

"Oh, it was um. It was something else. How did you know that I'm a werewolf?"

"As I said earlier today, I've met enough of your kind to know one when I see one." He said. The three of them moved from that topic as they sat on the ground together and rested.

* * *

"Don't eat the blue ones." Pan said. Emma had gone off to pick some berries after she, Ruby, and Killian had parted ways. "Congratulations. You did it... Orphan. You don't mind if I call you a lost girl, do you?"

"Call me what you like. It won't stop me from finding Henry." She said. Pan chuckled lightly.

"Oh I'm counting on that. There's a reason I tested you."

"Really?" Emma asked sarcastically.

"You haven't forgiven your parents for abandoning you. Don't deny it. You haven't. That's good. Really good. Cause when you find Henry, you'll understand him." Emma stood and turned to face the boy.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He hasn't forgiven you either. By the time you get to him, he'll never want to leave this island."

"We'll see." Emma said before turning to walk away.

"And as for you, Emma... When we're finished you won't just feel like an orphan. You'll be one." She froze in her tracks momentarily before continuing back to camp. "And please don't go around biting the boys. I don't have the patience to deal with werewolves." He yelled after her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey would you look at that. Another chapter. In just a few days. I'm on a roll. I** **hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review, favorite, and follow if you do.**

 **As per usual, I own nothing.**

* * *

"How much further?" Regina asked, her voice full of agitation from having to listen to Snow White and Prince Charming carry on.

"We should be close. Ruby?" Emma asked. The other werewolf unfolded the map and took one look at it before stopping dead in her tracks.

"Son of a bitch. It's behind us." Ruby said, turns the map and showing that the X had changed locations.

"Pan is moving the camp. He's tricking us." Hook said.

"If Pan's camp keeps moving then how will we find Henry?" Emma asked.

"If we use magic we can materialize in the camp and grab Henry." Regina said.

"Great plan!" Ruby said. "Except for the part where we don't even know where the camp is. Why not just let me sniff Henry out?"

"We don't know what your nose would lead us into. There's too many unknown factors." David said. Killian nodded in agreement.

"The best way to get into his camp will be to use the help of a fairy I knew while I was on the island. She may still be here. She would know where the camp is. And she may have some pixie dust to help us fly in." He said.

"Wait..." Emma said. "Tinker Bell?"

"You know her?" Killian asked hopefully.

"...You could say that." Emma mumbled.

"This is a horrible idea. Trust me, this Tinker Bell won't do us any good." Regina said. The rest of the group brushed her off though and let Hook lead the way to Tinker Bell. After awhile of trekking through the jungle, Emma caught an odd scent causing her to slow down a bit. Ruby did the same.

"What is that smell?" Emma whispered. Ruby sniffed the air a little more.

"I don't know. It's really strong though. I wonder why the others can't smell it." She said. Regina was a few paces ahead of them but stopped and stood in the middle of the path with seemingly no reason. "What is she doing?"

"Hey." Emma said. Regina turned to face the two women.

"Hey?"

"You're falling behind." Emma pointed out.

"Look who's talking." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah but we didn't stop dead in our tracks. Killian said he thinks her place is right up ahead. Come on."

"If she still lives there," Regina said. "You go waste your time searching and I'll wait here."

"What did you do to her?" Ruby asked.

"What? Why would you assume I did something?" The two werewolves said nothing, just looked at Regina expectantly in response. "Okay. We have a complicated history. You two don't need to know the details, but if she sees me then there's no chance she'll help us. If she's in the way in then I don't want to get in the way of Operation Henry."

"Operation Henry?" Emma questioned.

"That's what I've been calling it in my head because..."

"He would probably call it that." Emma finished. Regina gave a small smile.

"He could come up with something better but it was the best I could do." Emma and Ruby shared a look for a moment before Ruby shrugged and leaned down. She wrapped her arms around the woman and lifted her over her shoulder with ease.

"Miss Lucas, you put me down right this instant!" Regina shouted.

"No can do Madame Mayor." She replied. "We're all family. If Tinker Bell has an issue with you then she'll get over it. We aren't doing this without you. Right Emma?"

"Right." Emma said. She started walking through the jungle again, Ruby and Regina in tow. They reached a treehouse where the others had started climbing up the ladder into it.

"No one's home, come on up!" Hook said from the top. She rest of them climbed up into the shelter. Ruby stumbled a little once she was inside and Emma coughed violently.

"Emma, Ruby, are you guys okay?" Snow asked as she rushed over to the two.

"Can you not smell that?" Ruby asked. Regina and Snow looked at each other in confusion. Emma overcame her coughs for a moment to wave her hand towards them.

"Don't worry about us. Look for any sign of pixie dust around here." She rasped before another round of coughs rattled her chest.

"Emma and I have to get down from here." Ruby said. Snow turned to Hook and Charming.

"Regina and I will go down with them. You guys keep looking around up here." She said. The four women climbed back down the ladder together. Emma and Ruby immediately sat down on the ground while Snow and Regina stood back waiting for some sort of direction.

"Who the hell are you?" A voice rang out after several minutes of silence aside from Emma and Ruby's raspy breaths. They turned their heads to find a blonde woman standing at the opening of the clearing.

"We found nothing." Charming said as he and Hook dropped down from the treehouse.

"Well, if it isn't Captain Hook." She said.

"Tinker Bell." He acknowledged with a slight nod. "We could use your help."

"With?"

"Finding a boy. His name is Henry. We need to get into Pan's camp." He said. She shook her head.

"I can't help you. I don't have any magic."

"No pixie dust?" Charming asked. "What happened?"

"Not even my wings. I guess people just stopped believing in me." She told him. "Even if I wanted to help you, I still couldn't. He's far too powerful."

"But you know where he is?" Ruby asked with a bit of a wheeze.

"Sure, but it won't do any of you a bit of good. Especially not you by the looks of it. I see the plant that's lining the outside of my home got to you two. Next time you should wait to be invited in." Everyone's attention shifted to Ruby and Emma.

"Let us be the judge of it. Does Pan trust you?" Snow asked, shifting the attention back to the problem at hand. "Can you get us into his camp?"

"Maybe. Why should I help you though?" Tinker Bell said, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's in it for me? Pan will kill me once you're gone."

"Because I believe in you." Snow said.

"And a home." Emma told her. "You can go back with us to Storybrooke." Tinker Bell hesitated for a moment.

"I can get you in... But you'll only have one shot. So you'll have to get it right the first time. You need a good plan.

"We can do that. Come back to our camp with us and we can work on one." Snow said. When they returned to camp Emma and Ruby went off and took a nap together while Snow, Charming, and Hook started working on a few ideas for plans. Tinker Bell and Regina were sitting alone and talking, working out some differences, everyone supposed.

* * *

When Emma and Ruby woke up they walked through the whole plan together as a group. It seemed like a solid plan and everyone agreed on it.

"So what's the exit plan?" Tink asked. When she didn't receive a response she took it as a bad sign. "Please tell me you have an escape plan?"

"This was all very last minute." Ruby told her.

"We'll figure it out." Regina said.

"You'll figure it out? You do understand that Pan will kill all of us if he gets the chance, right? I don't really want to stick my neck on his chopping block without a way off this island. When you figure the way out then you can come find me. You know where I live." Tink said as she stormed off. Charming and Snow were about to chase after her but Emma stopped them.

"She's right, believe me. You never break in somewhere without a way out."

"What about you, Hook? You got off this island once." Charming pointed out.

"Yes, with my ship, which would require some form of magic for a portal. And Pan gave it to me then."

"Has nobody ever gotten off of the island without his permission?" Regina asked.

"Well," Hook thought. "There was one person. His name was Baelfire. I might know how he did it." Without further explaination, Hook headed back out into the jungle. Everyone picked up weapons and anything they may need and followed him out. They hiked through the jungle for almost an hour before Hook finally stopped at a large rock are with a rope attached to it.

"Would someone be kind enough to lend me a hand? What do you say, Savior?" He asked.

"I got it." Ruby said. She reached up and grabbed the rope. With one easy pull she tugged the rope down and lifted the small door into the rock formation. The rest of the group stepped into the cave like area and Hook and Ruby followed in behind them.

"Hook, what is this place?" Emma asked. He lit a torch on the wall and then began looking around the area. They all scavenged around until Ruby picked up a piece of a coconut with holes in the bottom.

"What the hell was this supposed to be?"

"Maybe he made pasta." Regina said with a bit of amusement and sarcasm.

"Wait a second." Emma said. She took it from the brunette's hand and placed it on top of the coconut piece she had a candle inside of. "Hook snuff out that torch." He did as asked and the light shined through the holes.

"It's the stars." Snow whispered in awe.

"It's a map." Hook said. "A map we can use to get home. I taught Baelfire to navigate using the stars. There's a code to it though. It'll take me some time but I may be able to decode it."

"Well then, get to it." Emma said. "We'll keep looking for anything else."

The group searched around for a little while longer but for the most part they ended up stopping to take a break. Emma was about to when she noticed markings on the wall by an old mattress.

"Hey, look at that." She whispered while moving closer to them. Ruby looked at the markings.

"What are they?" Ruby asked. The rest of the group looked in their direction to see what they had found.

"He was counting the number of days he was here. But look her, he stopped."

"Because he got off the island." Snow said hopefully.

"No, because he lost hope."

"You got that from a couple of markings?" Regina asked, her tone laced with skepticism.

"No, I used to do the same thing. I counted the days I was in a new foster home until it felt hopeless. I also counted the days I was lost after running from Nick and-"

"Who's Nick?" Charming asked. Ruby and Emma both tensed at the question.

"He was a foster parent of mine. One of the bad ones." She answered with ease.

"You think the same thing will happen to the boy?" Hook asked.

"We will find him, Emma." Charming said.

"You know that, and I know that, but he doesn't know that."

"What are you wanting us to do? Send him a message?" Regina asked.

"He just needs a sign to know that we're coming for him."

"With lost boys all over the plays?" She retorted.

"Let's use it to our advantage then." Ruby said. "I have an idea. Come on." The rest of the women followed her out of the cave. Ruby started pulling down vines and handing them to Snow. "We can trap one of them if we use these to make rope. Help me out." Emma started to gather vines when Regina slapped her upside the back of her head.

"Get down from there. You're still injured and I'll be damned if I'm going to let Ruby carry you over her shoulder because you got yourself hurt even worse." She said. Hook and Charming appeared again a few moments later. They explained that they were going to look for a sextant to help read Baelfire's map. Charming's goodbye was odd but they brushed it off for the most part and waited for one of the lost boys to fall into their trap. It took awhile but eventually one of them fell into it.

"Are you trying to start a war with Pan?" The boy yelled.

"He started this when he kidnapped my son." Emma said.

"But that doesn't mean you're our enemy." Regina told him as a chocolate bar appeared in her hand. "I assume you like chocolate? I thought you would like something sweet."

"We don't wanna hurt you." Ruby said. "We just need to get a message to Henry."

"Why should I help you?" He asked.

"Because you had a home and a family once." Emma told him. "And you stopped believing you could get back to them. Now we're here and we can help all of you. Not just Henry. We can get you home." Regina offered the chocolate bar again and he took it. Suddenly he turned and threw it into the forest.

"Don't you understand? I'm here because I don't want to go home. None of us do."

"Pan is a monster though. Look what he did to you." Emma pointed out with a gesture to the cut on his cheek.

"Oh Pan didn't do that... Henry did." Emma's face shifted and Ruby couldn't react fast enough to prevent her from pinning the boy against a tree. "It's too late." He told her.

"Emma let him go." Snow said.

"Henry is a lost boy now." Emma's hold tightened on him and it looked like she was about to hurt him.

"Emma stop it!" Ruby warned.

"Your boy is one of the most vicious recruits we have seen in ages." Ruby yanked Emma back from the boy. Regina took one look at Emma's face and started to step towards the boy.

"What are you doing?" Snow demanded.

"Let me through so I can rip his heart out. Then he'll do exactly what we want."

"This is not how we do things." Snow said. "Emma, we can find another way to get to Henry."

"Really?" Regina asked skeptically. "And what do you think, Emma?"

"Emma..." Ruby whispered. Emma looked between the other three women momentarily.

"I think we need to talk to our son." She said.

"Emma, we can't do this." Ruby said.

"It's brutal." Snow added. "Regina don't." Regina headed for the boy and Emma wrapped her arms tightly around Snow to hold her back. Ruby was about to stop the former Evil Queen but Emma released a deep growl and she stayed where she was.

"I'm so sorry." Emma whispered right before they heard the sound of the boy's heart being ripped from his body. She released her hold on her mother and stepped back.

"Mary Margaret, Ruby, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me. I'm more worried about Henry."

"I know. That's why I'm willing to let Regina do whatever it takes."

"At what cost though, Emma?" Ruby asked. "You just let her rip someone's heart out. How many lines are you willing to cross?"

"All of them. That's my son we're talking about."

"We understand that. But you can't cost this family." Snow told her.

"Having second thoughts?" Regina asked from behind them.

"Not at all. You ready to talk to Henry?" Emma asked.

"Oh we're going to do more than that." She said, holding up two pieces of a mirror and then handing one to the lost boy. "We're going to see him."

It took quite a while but eventually Henry's face appeared on the mirror.

"Henry, are you okay?" Regina asked.

"Henry, can you hear me?" Emma said.

 _"Mom? No. This is a trick."_

"No, no, it's not a trick. Henry, I promise you. This is real. Kid, it's Operation Cobra Rescue. It's us." Emma told him.

 _"You're here?"_

"Yes, we're coming to get you."

 _"There's someone coming."_ He looked over his shoulder at whoever was approaching. _"It's Pan. I- I gotta go."_

"We love you." Regina said. The image disappeared from the mirror but their smiles remained. Henry knew that they were on their way. Things were going to be okay. They were just getting back to camp once again when Hook and David emerged from the jungle. David ran towards Snow and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Ew." Emma said blankly.

"Where's the sextant?" Regina asked.

"We didn't find it. Pan must have gotten to it first." Hook said. Ruby watched as Snow and David continued to kiss.

"Do they like... Not need to breathe?" She asked.

"Maybe they use photosynthesis." Emma wondered aloud. Regina rolled her eyes at the couple.

"What I wouldn't give for another sleeping curse." The two of them separated from their kiss.

"Hook... He saved my life." David said.

"You sure you wanna tell them that, mate?" Hook asked.

"On our trek, we were ambushed by lost boys. Pinned down, outnumbered. But Hook, he risked his life to stop me from getting hit by a poison arrow. Without him I wouldn't be standing here. Your flask, please?" He said. Hook reached into his pocket and pulled the metal flask out and handed it to the prince. David held it up. "I thought he deserved a little credit." He took a swig and the handed it back to Snow. Hook gave a nod as they passed around the flask of rum. Regina turned it down but when it reached Ruby she tipped it back and took a large swig of it. She handed it back to the pirate captain and looked at everyone else that was staring at her.

"What? Like you all didn't want to do the same thing after the past few days." She said. Nobody could help but laugh at the brunette's words.

"Well, let's get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow." David informed them. They spread out around the camp to rest. Snow and David together, Hook by himself, and Regina found herself lying next to Ruby and Emma on the other side of the camp. A few hours of rest and they would be able to handle whatever came their way the next day.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So I mentioned Nick because he's going to become more and more important. Also, Tink's treehouse had something that really affected Emma and Ruby. Which may or may not be important later on. Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter and please let me know what you thought of it.**


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